The universe is twice as old as anyone thought, study suggests

Rob Waugh
·Contributor
·2-min read
Lion Nebula (Sh2 -132) is an extensive visible emission nebula in the Cepheus constellation . It is located on the southern edge of the constellation, a short distance from the border with the Lizard , along the plane of the Milky Way.
The universe might be twice as old as we thought. (Getty Images)

The universe might be almost twice as old as we believed, being 26.7 billion years old instead of 13.7 billion.

The new theory suggests that the universe might also be made of completely different material from what most scientists previously believed. Researchers reached their conclusion after analysing data from 'red shifted' planets that are moving away from us so their light becomes redder. Their study suggests that mysterious 'dark matter' might not actually exist at all – which would make the universe a very different place.

Rajendra Gupta, a physics professor at the Faculty of Science of the University of Ottawa, said: "The study's findings confirm that our previous work about the age of the universe being 26.7 billion years has allowed us to discover that the universe does not require dark matter to exist."

Gupta has said that observations using the new James Webb Space Telescope correspond to his theories.

What is dark matter?

In cosmology, the term 'dark matter' describes anything that appears not to interact with light or the electromagnetic field, or that can only be explained through gravitational force.

Most of the universe is made of dark matter, scientists believe, with 27% composed of dark matter and less than 5% of ordinary matter.

We can't see it (even with telescopes), nor do we know what it's made of. But dark matter helps us understand how galaxies, planets and stars behave – although the new study suggests it might not exist at all.

The researchers gathered data from the James Webb Space Telescope, which is currently in space. (Getty)
The researchers gathered data from the James Webb Space Telescope, which is currently in space. (Getty Images)

What did the study show?

The research suggests that man's whole understanding of our expanding universe might be wrong.

Rather than requiring mysterious, unseen dark matter to make everything add up, it's actually to do with the forces of nature decreasing over time and light losing energy. The researchers said it could open up a new way to understand the universe.

Gupta said: "In standard cosmology, the accelerated expansion of the universe is said to be caused by dark energy but is in fact due to the weakening forces of nature as it expands, not due to dark energy.

"There are several papers that question the existence of dark matter, but mine is the first one, to my knowledge, that eliminates its cosmological existence while being consistent with key cosmological observations that we have had time to confirm."

By challenging the need for dark matter in the universe and providing evidence for a new cosmological model, this study opens up new avenues for exploring the fundamental properties of the universe.

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