The Universe is TWICE as old as we thought: Big Bang happened 26.7 BILLION years ago, expert claims

The Universe is nearly twice as old as we thought, according to a new study that challenges the leading cosmological model.

Experts at the University of Ottawa have come up with a new model and claim that the Big Bang happened 26.7 billion years ago.

This is almost twice as old as previous estimates, which suggest our universe is 13.7 billion years old.

“Our newly designed model extends the formation time of galaxies by several billion years, making the universe 26.7 billion years old, not 13.7 as previously estimated,” says Professor Rajendra Gupta, an author of the study.

Until now, scientists have calculated the age of our universe by studying the oldest stars based on the redshift of light from distant galaxies.

In 2021, based on this model, they arrived at an age of 13.797 billion years for our galaxy.

However, many experts are puzzled by the existence of stars that appear to be even older than this.

For example, Methuselah, a star in the constellation Libra, is estimated to be between 13.65 billion and 15.25 billion years old.

In addition, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has discovered several early galaxies that appear to be in advanced stages of evolution.

Professor Gupta claims that the previous model based on the redshift of light is ‘tired’.

‘BBy coexisting this theory with the expanding universe, it becomes possible to reinterpret the redshift as a hybrid phenomenon, rather than purely due to expansion,” he explained.

Instead, Professor Gupta argues that we should introduce the idea of ​​evolving ‘coupling constants’.

Coupling constants are fundamental physical constants that determine the interactions between particles.

The idea was first conceived by Paul Dirac in 1928, who suggested that these constants could vary over time.

Allowing them to evolve could extend the time frame for the formation of early galaxies, observed by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope at high redshifts, from a few hundred million years to several billion years, says Professor Gupta.

He also suggests that the traditional interpretation of the “cosmological constant,” which represents dark energy responsible for the accelerated expansion of the universe, needs to be revised.

Instead, he proposes a constant that explains the evolution of the coupling constants.

“This change in the cosmological model helps solve the puzzle of small galaxies observed in the early universe, allowing for more accurate observations,” he added in a statement.