Astronomers have observed what they believe is the formation of the universe 13.6 billion years ago, when the earliest stars were just starting to shine. The astronomers say their observations may also have measured mysterious dark matter from that time. The observations however were not in visible light but in weak radio signals from deep space. An antenna in the Australian desert captured the radio signals. This receiver is a little bigger than a large television and costs less than $5 million.

Because it records radio signals and not visible light, the antenna can detect objects that are more distant than the famous Hubble Space Telescope. Judd Bowman of Arizona State University helped to write the report which was published in the journal Nature. He says the signals came from the very first objects in the universe as it was coming out of darkness 180 million years after the Big Bang. Many scientists believe the universe began with a huge explosion they call the “Big Bang.” Stars and galaxies began to appear as the fireball of hydrogen and helium gas expanded and cooled.

This image provided by the National Science Foundation shows a rendering of how the first stars in the universe might have looked. Scientists have detected a signal from 180 million years after the Big Bang when the earliest stars began glowing.

This image provided by the National Science Foundation shows a rendering of how the first stars in the universe might have looked. Scientists have detected a signal from 180 million years after the Big Bang when the earliest stars began glowing.

Aliqismet BADALOV,
“Khalq qazeti”