Astronomers spot 'most distant object in the universe'

by Doug Mason 15 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  DrJohnStMark

  And I expected to live at least 13 billion years in paradise on earth...
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  daniel-p

  I've always wondered how they can say a dinosaur lived 'this' long ago or that planet is 'that old' etc.

  wantstoleave, scientists use a few things they they know are constants, such as how long it takes light to travel, to measure how old things are in space. On earth, they often use other constants like the rate at which it takes certain radioactive elements to decay. These elements are in things like rock and wood, so scientists can explain how old things are.
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  Farkel

  :I've always wondered how they can say a dinosaur lived 'this' long ago or that planet is 'that old' etc.

  All reputable scientists use 607 BC as an indisputable anchor date and calculate everything from there.

  Farkel
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  Elsewhere

  > How do scientists measure time? I've always wondered how they can say a dinosaur lived 'this' long ago or that planet is 'that old' etc

  For objects in deep space, they look at the spectrum of the light (as in a prism making a rainbow) and observe the red-shift of the light. The farther away an object, the the more "red" the colors become.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshift

  Regarding rocks and fossils. They measure the ratio of certain radioactive elements. The older the rock, the greater the ratio.
  http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_scientists_measure_rock_age
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  Satanus

  'How do scientists measure time?'

  The same way dinos measured time, w their watches.

  'I've always wondered how they can say a dinosaur lived 'this' long ago or that planet is 'that old' etc.'

  By reading the dinoglyphs on their tombstones.

  S
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  frankiespeakin

  wants,

  One of the ways they can tell is by using the Doppler Effect and depending on how far the element absorption lines have red shifted in the light(wave) spectrum. Those more farther away the more they shift in the direction the red spectrum in light waves. Universal space is expanding equally and so the farhter away a galaxy is the more the light coming from that galaxy will be shift toward the red. SO they are taking spectroalgrapfic analysis and calculating the distance.

  Here's something to give you an idea:

  http://outreach.atnf.csiro.au/education/senior/astrophysics/spectrographs.html

  And this:

  http://outreach.atnf.csiro.au/education/senior/astrophysics/spectra_info.html#specinfodoppler

  Edit: sorry I see you already covered it ElseW.