Ancient stars align with the older universe age, challenging younger estimates

A study analyzing about 250,000 old Milky Way stars using Gaia and LAMOST data finds the oldest stars to be about 13.73 billion years old, aligning with the 13.8‑billion‑year age inferred from the cosmic microwave background and weakening the case for the younger 12.5–12.9 billion-year age suggested by supernova measurements; the Hubble tension persists without this stellar-age result resolving it.