News Earth

Age of solar system needs a fresh look

Honed measurements show age overshot by amount significant to earliest stage of formation

By Lisa Grossman

- More than 2 years ago

A trusted equation for calculating the age of the solar system may need rewriting. New measurements show that one of the equation’s assumptions — that certain kinds of uranium always appear in the same relative quantities in meteorites — is wrong.

NEW LOOK AT A VERY OLD ROCK The work uses new measurements of the relative quantities of uranium isotopes in the Allende meteorite.