11.03.2005 06:57
Spitzer Space Telescope detects first light
'First light' usually refers to the first images
from a telescope. In this case, it's the light produced by the
first stars to form in the infant universe, perhaps some 200
millions of years after the Big Bang. So reports the BBC at
Glow from
first stars revealed.
Artist rendition of Spitzer in its heliocentric orbit.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
The observations used in the latest study
were made by the Infrared Array Camera (Irac) on the US space
agency's Spitzer Space Telescope.
The results present the first evidence for cessation of the so-called cosmic Dark Ages.
The term, coined by the English Astronomer Royal, Sir Martin Rees, refers to the period in cosmic history when hydrogen and helium atoms had formed but had not yet had the opportunity to condense and ignite as stars.
The press release on the Spitzer Space
Telescope site states that the glow might have been from hot
gas falling into the first black holes.
Scientists See Light that May Be from First Objects in
Universe.The results present the first evidence for cessation of the so-called cosmic Dark Ages.
The term, coined by the English Astronomer Royal, Sir Martin Rees, refers to the period in cosmic history when hydrogen and helium atoms had formed but had not yet had the opportunity to condense and ignite as stars.
Artist rendition of Spitzer in its heliocentric orbit.
NASA/JPL-Caltech