• Question: How long ago was the big bang?

    Asked by to Roberto, Sarah on 16 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Sarah Casewell

      Sarah Casewell answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      We’re still learning about this, but the best measurement we have so far is 13.798 billion years ago ! So 13.798 and 9 zeros after it.

    • Photo: Roberto Trotta

      Roberto Trotta answered on 17 Jun 2014:

      Incredibly, we can answer this question very precisely: it was exactly 13 billion 798 million years ago, give or take 37 million years!

      Isn’t it wonderful that we can tell with such a precision? It would be like being able to guess the birthday of a stranger in the street to the nearest day just by looking at them!

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