The current scientific consensus estimates the age of the universe to be approximately 13.8 billion years. This estimate is based primarily on measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation and the expansion rate of the universe, analyzed within the framework of the standard cosmological model known as Lambda-CDM. More specifically, data from the Planck satellite mission in 2015 and updated in 2018 gave an age of about 13.8 billion years, with a small uncertainty of around ±0.02 billion years. Earlier measurements from the WMAP mission also supported an age close to 13.77 billion years. These estimates come from using the Hubble constant and other cosmological parameters to calculate the time elapsed since the Big Bang
. While there have been some controversial studies suggesting the universe might be significantly older (e.g., nearly 27 billion years), these are not widely accepted and would require revising fundamental cosmological models
. In summary, the best-supported and widely accepted age of the universe is about 13.8 billion years.
