AUSTIN, TEXAS: Joe Rogan is known for promoting homophobia, transphobia, fat-shaming, sexual assault, and vaccines. But this time, the podcaster and controversial UFC commentator promoted physics professor Rajendra Gupta's space theory.
Gupta disproved decades of effort by hundreds of the world's top astronomers and physicists by inventing a new formula, combining it with data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, and claiming the universe is 26.7 billion years old. That's roughly twice as old as the universe's real age which scientists calculated over decades.
How old is the universe?
Many astronomers and cosmologists have examined the age of the universe, which is a fascinating topic. Scientists estimate that the universe is around 13.8 billion years old based on measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the oldest light in the universe.
There is substantial confusion and debate regarding this figure, however, because different ways of measuring the rate of expansion of the universe, known as the Hubble constant, provide different findings. According to some measurements based on neighboring galaxies and supernovae, the cosmos may be as young as 11.4 billion years old.
This disparity is one of the most perplexing puzzles in modern cosmology, and academics are working hard to figure out what causes it. It's possible that there's some undiscovered physics or new events influencing the expansion of the universe, or that there are some flaws or biases in the observations or models.
'Nearly twice as old as previously believed'
On July 16, 2023, Rogan tweeted to his 11 million followers a link to a press release from the University of Ottawa promoting recent research from Gupta. Rogan penned, "New research puts age of universe at 26.7 billion years, nearly twice as old as previously believed."
Almost none of Gupta's colleagues agree with him, but that didn't worry Rogan. It also didn't bother Elon Musk, the billionaire who owns Twitter, who reacted to Rogan's post. Musk wrote, "Possibly. Dark matter is what seems most sketch to me."
Gupta's contentious idea of light color change is popular among self-described "free thinkers" such as Rogan and Musk. The light theory has been slammed by space scientists. According to this idea, the wavelength of light varies with time and space, turning it red. This widespread notion, however, may have severe consequences since it may drown out the educated voices who have spent their lives studying the subject. The public endorsement of Gupta's fringe concept could have disastrous consequences.
The "redshift" phenomenon measures the distance and age of stars or galaxies, which should align with the universe's age and the Big Bang's decay. Gupta used the "tired light" model, which assumes the universe isn't expanding and redshifts come from light wear and stretching over time. This model would have allowed the oldest galaxies to evolve. However, the media can short-circuit peer review and tempt unscrupulous academics, potentially stifling scientific credibility. The age of the universe doesn't directly impact our lives, but science has a direct impact on our lives.
