Home > Concepts, Dark Matter, Ephemeris Program > 03/26/2013 – Ephemeris – The universe is slightly older than we thought

03/26/2013 – Ephemeris – The universe is slightly older than we thought

March 26, 2013

Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 26th.  The sun will rise at 7:34.  It’ll be up for 12 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 8:02.   The moon, 1 day before full, will set at 7:20 tomorrow morning.

Last week NASA and the European Space Agency announced the findings from the Planck satellite.  Along with a sharper map of the Cosmic Microwave Background, created at the moment the Universe became transparent some 380,000 years after the Big Bang, Planck data revealed a slightly older universe of 13.82 billion years.  This is with the error thought to be in the last measurement.  So it’s a refinement.  Also the universe appears to be expanding at a slightly lower rate that had been.  Of the three main constituents of the universe, ordinary matter out of which you, me and the stars are made of  is 4.9 percent, dark matter that holds galaxy clusters together is at 26 percent, while dark energy is at 68.3 percent, a decrease for it.

Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.  They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Cosmic Microwave Background

The Cosmic Microwave Background as determined by the Planck satellite. Image credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration.

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