Hubble peers back in time and makes an astonishing discovery

[Judi Lynn]

By Mike Wehner @MikeWehner
June 4th, 2020 at 11:17 PM

One of the things that are so cool about the Hubble Space Telescope — and other cosmos-gazing hardware that scientists use to scan the skies — is that it’s capable of gathering so much data during its observations that sometimes new discoveries are made months or even years after the images were first collected.

That’s the case with a new study of data gathered during the Hubble Frontier Fields program which wrapped up way back in 2017. Researchers examined a wealth of data and wrote a paper in 2019 detailing their findings. Now, a little over a year later, a team of scientists led by the European Space Agency has discovered something pretty special that throws the origins of the first galaxies and stars into question.

After the Big Bang, stars formed. Scientists believe that these early stars were unique due to the fact that some elements found in stars today can only be made within stars. It’s a chicken-or-the-egg scenario, so to speak, but researchers have settled on the egg. Put simply, it’s believed that those earliest stars were made of hydrogen, helium, and lithium because those were the only elements that were hanging around at the time.

Stars composed of those ingredients are known as Population III stars. Hubble hunted for these stars by peering into the cosmos at distances so great that the light reaching Earth today originated between 500 million years and 1 billion years of the big bang. If theories about the early universe are correct, Hubble should have been able to spot some Population III stars just hanging out and doing their thing.

More:
https://bgr.com/2020/06/04/hubble-universe-early-stars-study/

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. A big fat K&R!

Fascinating article.

I have always wondered about the earliest times of our universe. Here's another piece of the puzzle!

[Judi Lynn]

3. Thank you! n/t

[burrowowl]

2. Thanks for link

[Judi Lynn]

4. Thank you! n/t

[NeoGreen]

5. I don't know how many times I have logged in to DU...

...just to click 'REC' on one of your posts.

I should do it more often.

Thank you, for all your work to share science with us everyday Judi Lynn!

[Karadeniz]

6. Amen!❤

[Judi Lynn]

12. Thank you! 🌠🌟⭐️

[Judi Lynn]

11. It's a total adventure finding them, NeoGreen! Thank you, so much. n/t

[Hekate]

7. Kick!

[Judi Lynn]

13. Thank you! 🔭⭐️🌟

[AllaN01Bear]

8. science rocks

there are more stars in heaven than the hairs on your head.

[Judi Lynn]

14. Overwhelming! Thanks. n/t

[bluescribbler]

9. I fucking love science.

I love what it can reveal about the universe.

[Judi Lynn]

15. It definitely humbles people who dare to open their minds, doesn't it? So many won't. n/t

[SkyDaddy7]

19. SAD, huh!?!

...I simply don't understand those who have no respect for what their fellow human beings are able to discover!?!? To read or hear folks say like someone said to me not long ago when discussing the pandemic that they simply can't trust Science because scientist will change their stance on issues...DRIVES ME NUTS!! Regardless of how much I try to explain that's what makes Science stronger, when Scientist gather more evidence & their body of knowledge grows sometimes long held thoughts must change due to the evidence...But its like talking to a dog it simply doesn't freakin sink in! WHY?!?!? How can people go through life believing in concrete Bronze Age myths & never be troubled by any of it in the 21st century!?!? It is truly mind boggling!!! ...And SCARY!!!

[Stuart G]

10. K and R...Thank You for posting...Great Picture...

[Judi Lynn]

16. You would think images like that would tell people there's something amazing going on...🌌 Thank U.

[Stuart G]

17. Yes, there truly is something amazing going on..I need to add a very important idea:

Yes, there are aliens out there from other planets and solar systems and stars that are far, far, away..
And yes, they have been here and decided not to get involved in the human species..Why wouldn't the
intelligent beings from another world or solar system not want to get involved with the humans?
...No, that one is very simple...Humans are not as bright as they think they are...Every few years on... their home planet, EARTH, there is some sort of problem that cannot be solved, and the HUMANS start to destroy each other, and their surroundings, and destroy priceless art forms and treasures. Why all the destruction?
....Humans it seems cannot get along with each other over simple ideas like sharing this and sharing that. One group wants to be better than the next and ends up killing neighbors and neighbors children...
....From a distance far, far and far away...that species ...HUMANS... does not look very promising no
matter how bright they are..Avoid that planet ...Earth...and maybe the ...HUMANS.. will figure out the idea of sharing and getting along.....

...Until that time in the future..........STAY AWAY FROM PLANET EARTH.......!!!!!!!.............

Landing there could risk the destruction of your space ship and all of your explorers..........

............AGAIN..............................STAY AWAY FROM PLANET EARTH AT ALL COSTS....!!!!!!!

[marble falls]

18. I think we're on the edge of learning more about "time".

[lagomorph777]

20. Disturbing. Some pretty radical revisions to cosmology may result.

But hey, 100 years ago, the "universe" consisted of our own Milky Way galaxy. We have had several such upheavals since then. This is what science is all about.