Astronomers detect signals from the first stars in the Universe
A signal from the Universe's first stars, born a cosmic heartbeat after the Big Bang, has been detected for the first time, astronomers said recently, setting the science world aflutter. The observation came after a decade-long quest, years earlier than expected, and was described by one excited observer as the "biggest astronomical breakthrough" since the Nobel-capped detection of gravitational waves in 2015. Here's more.
The findings need to be confirmed by other experiments
Even though the findings have to be confirmed by other experiments, it is hoped the discovery will shed light on dark matter ─ an invisible, mysterious substance thought to make up a large share of the Universe. "Finding this miniscule signal has opened a new window on the early Universe," said Arizona State University astronomer Judd Bowman, the project's lead investigator.
Such ancient stars cannot be seen through telescopes
"Telescopes cannot see far enough to directly image such ancient stars, but we've seen when they sparked to life in radio waves arriving from space," said Bowman. Fingerprints of the stars, already active 13.6 billion years ago, a mere 180 million years after the Big Bang gave rise to the Universe were picked up by a dining table-sized radio spectrometer in the Australian desert.
Such evidence was unexpected for years to come
Such evidence had been expected, but not for years to come. To everyone's surprise, and delight, the signal contained something curious. The early Universe, data showed, appears to have been twice as cold as previously estimated, at minus 270 degrees Celsius, according to a study. Some suggested a role for dark matter, the theme of an accompanying science paper published by the same journal.
