The Hubble Ultra Deep Field is an image of a small region of space in the constellation Fornax, composited from Hubble Space Telescope data accumulated over a period from September 3, 2003 through January 16, 2004. The patch of sky in which the galaxies reside was chosen because it had a low density of bright stars in the near-field. \u00a0(NASA and the European Space Agency)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The January\/February 2019 issue of Discover<\/em> includes a fascinating article by Corey S. Powell entitled \u201cThe Constant Fight: Behind the astronomical dispute that\u2019s splitting apart the cosmos.\u201d \u00a0I\u2019ll try to summarize it here, briefly \u2014 at least, the bottom line. \u00a0If you\u2019re interested in understanding the two different approaches to the question, please read the article, which is very clear:<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back in the 1980s, a contentious dispute broke out over the value of the so-called \u201cHubble constant,\u201d which describes the rate at which the cosmos is expanding. \u00a0The value assigned to it determines how much time we think has passed since the Big Bang. \u00a0The slower the expansion rate is, the older the universe is.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
On one side of the debate was Allan Sandage, \u201cthe towering successor to Edwin Hubble at Mount Wilson Observatory, who calculated the age of the universe was roughly 20 billion years.\u201d \u00a0(I\u2019m fond of Allan Sandage. \u00a0Although I didn\u2019t know it at the time, he was a neighbor of mine while I was growing up in San Gabriel, California. \u00a0And his late-in-life adoption of Christianity \u2014 driven, as he said, by his awed wonder at the orderliness of the cosmos \u2014 interests me very much. \u00a0I wish I had met him.) \u00a0On the other side of the debate were a group whose observations, they said, proved the universe was only half<\/em> the age that Dr. Sandage assigned to it.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The dispute was passionate, and sometimes tempers flared. \u00a0And, as it turns out, both sides were wrong. \u00a0Vastly improved data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Planck satellite suggests an age for the cosmos of about 13.8 billion years.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But disagreements are emerging again. \u00a0Less contentious these days, perhaps.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back in the day, at various scientific conferences, one of the dissidents would say \u201cWe measure the Hubble constant to be 100.\u201d \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s 50<\/em>,\u201d Sandage would roar in response.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today, measurements of the Hubble constant that are made on the basis of directly observing (relatively near) stars yield a cosmic expansion rate of 73. \u00a0But measurements reached through study of the distant microwave glow of the early universe give a value of roughly 68.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The difference may seem small, but it\u2019s momentous in its way, and persistent. \u00a0Various lines of evidence converge on both of the two distinct numbers \u2014 and the implications of this persistent distinction may force the adoption of a quite different model of the universe.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are lots of big issues \u2014 literally huge ones \u2014 about the universe already. \u00a0Why, for example, did it begin to expand in the first place? \u00a0And why does it seem to be accelerating? \u00a0But now there\u2019s the possibility that the cosmos has a split identity: \u00a0Maybe the early universe on which the Planck satellite concentrates by focusing on distant microwave radiation (greater distance means older light) really functions (or functioned) differently than the later universe, studied by the Hubble space telescope through its focus on \u201clocal\u201d stars.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Intriguing. \u00a0It\u2019s not yet all nailed down. \u00a0Not even remotely.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 The January\/February 2019 issue of Discover includes a fascinating article by Corey S. Powell entitled \u201cThe Constant Fight: Behind the astronomical dispute that\u2019s splitting apart the cosmos.\u201d \u00a0I\u2019ll try to summarize it here, briefly \u2014 at least, the bottom line. \u00a0If you\u2019re interested in understanding the two different approaches to the question, please […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"NASA](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2018\/01\/Hubble_ultra_deep_field.jpg\")
<\/a>