A star cluster in the Milky Way appears to be as old as the universe

Measuring ages of ancient clusters like M92 can help resolve a puzzle about cosmic evolution

An image from the Hubble Space Telescope of globular star cluster M92.

The globular star cluster M92, shown here in an image from the Hubble Space Telescope, appears to be about 13.8 billion years old — the same age as the universe.

ESA/Hubble, NASA, Gilles Chapdelaine

One of the oldest known objects in the universe is wandering around the Milky Way.