How do we measure the size and the age of the universe?

What is the current estimated age of the universe according to cosmologists?

• 10.5 billion years

• 13.82 billion years

• 15.3 billion years

• 20 billion years

Which spacecraft's observations helped determine the age of the universe?

• Hubble

• Voyager

• Planck

• Galileo

What is the cosmic microwave background?

• Light from the sun

• Radiation left over from the Big Bang

• Sound waves in space

• Heat from stars

What is a globular cluster?

• A single massive star

• A dense collection of close to a million stars formed at roughly the same time

• A group of planets orbiting a star

• A black hole surrounded by stars

How long can a star like the sun burn at its current brightness?

• Approximately 9 billion years

• Only 800 million years

• More than 20 billion years

• 20 million years

What is the Hubble constant used for?

• Measuring the brightness of stars

• Calculating the age of the universe

• Determining the distance to the sun

• Measuring the mass of planets

What happens if a globular cluster is more than 10 million years old?

• All stars must be more massive than 10 solar masses

• All stars must be less massive than 10 solar masses

• There will be no stars in the cluster

• The cluster will collapse into a black hole

What was the initial estimated age range of the universe according to early measurements of the Hubble constant?

• 5 to 10 billion years

• 10 to 20 billion years

• 20 to 30 billion years

• 30 to 40 billion years

What was the purpose of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)?

• To measure the distance to nearby stars

• To study the surface of Mars

• To measure tiny temperature variations in the cosmic microwave background

• To explore the outer planets

In what year did NASA publish the first batch of data from the WMAP?

• 1999

• 2001

• 2003

• 2005