Above: A side-by-side comparison of the Crab Nebula as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope in optical light (left) and the James Webb Space Telescope in infrared light (right). The Hubble image was released in 2005, while astronomers have recently used Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) to reveal new details of the Crab Nebula. Hubble Image: NASA, ESA, J. Hester, A. Loll (Arizona State University); Webb Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, T. Temim (Princeton University).
The most recent issue of Free Astronomy Magazine (January-February 2024) is available for your reading and downloading pleasure in English, Italian, Spanish, French, and Arabic at www.astropublishing.com (and facebook).
Michele Ferrara's cover story ("Is the universe really 26.7 billion years old?") ends with the following question:
Let us conclude by asking ourselves a question: “Is it credible that a century of cosmological studies, which have seen among the protagonists some of the best minds ever, have led to underestimating the age of the universe by almost 50%?”
Michele Ferrara, Free Astronomy Magazine
Soon after proofing the article for the final edition of the issue, "some blogger…" Dr. Ethan Siegel (who had single-handedly saved the lives of myself (when I was doing it) and hundreds of other astronomy club newsletter editors by providing fantastic content for free via the Night Sky Network and ye olde NASA Space Place (back when it was the host for those articles). And may I furthermore plug Ethan's also-fantastic interviews on The Space Show)) posted to twitter the year-end summary "The 10 most overhyped physics and astronomy claims from 2023" (subtle), which includes the quite-topical July 18th article "Is the Universe 13.8 or 26.7 billion years old?" That article closes as follows (sorry to ruin it for you if you didn't read it, but read it anyway for the details):
The Universe might not be fully understood, but its age is definitely 13.8 billion years old, and absolutely cannot be 26.7 billion years old based on the evidence at hand.
Ethan Siegel, Starts With A Bang
We shall hold our breath and see what future data reveals.
Browser-readable version (and PDF download): www.astropublishing.com/1FAM2024/
