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How old?

Last post 03-20-2008 5:27 PM by Paulett Liewer. 3 replies.
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  • 03-18-2008 9:58 AM

    How old?

    How old is the oldest star today? Is it hard to see? - Katie H. (FWMS)

  • 03-18-2008 10:59 AM In reply to

    • Paulett Liewer
    • Top 25 Contributor
    • Joined on 03-11-2008
    • Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of
    • Posts 17

    Re: How old?

    I just googled "oldest star" and got a great hit: The oldest star in our galaxy (the Milky Way) is designated HE0107-5240. It is in the direction of a southern constellation, Phoenix, and is about 36,000 light years away -- that means the light from this star takes 36,000 years to reach us. You can read more about it at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2381935.stm
  • 03-19-2008 9:58 AM In reply to

    Re: How old?

    Isn't the milky way more then one star? Sophia G-R (FWMS)

  • 03-20-2008 5:27 PM In reply to

    • Paulett Liewer
    • Top 25 Contributor
    • Joined on 03-11-2008
    • Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of
    • Posts 17

    Re: How old?

    The Milky Way - our galaxy - has many, many, many stars! Scientists estimate it contains about 100 billion (100,000,000,000). If you go up in the mountains away from the light pollution of cities, you can see a few thousand stars with the naked eye. You can also see the dust because it obscures some stars. There a nice picture at http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap990224.html and another nice picture in infrared light at http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/milky_way.html. Paulett
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