Universe's first objects spied
Artist's animation of Universe's early years
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Tuesday, 19, Dec 2006 03:48
Nasa scientists believe that they have detected infrared light from the very first objects of the universe.
Using the Spitzer telescope, scientists have analysed patchy light from bright, huge objects more than 13 billion light years away.
It is thought that these objects may be the first stars at a size of 1,000 times the mass of our sun, or vast black holes that are consuming gas and then emitting the energy.
If they are stars, then the clusters may be the first mini-galaxies containing a mass of less than about one million suns.
Dr Alexander Kashlinksy of Nasa's Goddard space flight centre commented: "We are pushing our telescopes to the limit and are tantalizingly close to getting a clear picture of the very first collections of objects.
"Whatever these objects are, they are intrinsically incredibly bright and very different from anything in existence today."
To analyse the data, astronomers had to remove the light from all stars and galaxies in the foreground to leave only the most ancient light. Fluctuations in the infrared light then revealed clustering of objects that produced the observed light pattern.
Dr Kashlinksy explained: "Imagine trying to see fireworks at night from across a crowded city. If you could turn off the city lights, you might get a glimpse at the fireworks. We have shut down the lights of the universe to see the outlines of its first fireworks."
Scientists argue that the planned James Webb space telescope will be able to build on the work of Spitzer and identify the nature of the clusters.