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about 4.5 billion years ago. (655) In the mid-1930's, Hubble's measurements of interstellar distances had indicated an expanding universe having an age in the order of 2 billion years. These measurements underwent major correction in 1952 due to the discovery of two classes of Cepheid variable stars, a discovery that doubled the estimated universe age. The first radiometric dating of meteoric material was done in 1955 by Claire Patterson who studied the lead isotopes in chondritic meteorite material. The result indicated an age of about 4.5 billion years. This finding, now considered correct, could hardly have been the source for information in The Urantia Book, since its metal printing plates had already been completed. To incorporate such information would have required a major rewrite of the section on the origin of Urantia, and on the basis of unverified information supplied by an untested methodology that gave the meteorite material an age greater than the then current estimated age for the universe. However, as with all such information, truth is in the eye of the beholder, and its meaning is a decision for the individual. Lucky guess or ??? Your choice.
References.
1. New Scientist No. 1982, June, 1995.
2. Dyson, Freeman. (1992) "From Eros to Gaia." (Pantheon Books, New York)
3. Henbest, Nigel. (1992) "The Planets. Portraits of New Worlds." (Penguin Books, London)
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