The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

"Extraordinary" size – researchers find giant stars in the early universe

2023-05-28T03:22:51.560Z

Highlights: New observations suggest that in the early universe there were stars that were a thousand times more massive than our sun. Some old stars are said to have been much larger than the specimens we see in the night sky today. The researchers hope to collect more data on early galaxies to identify earlier stars. This, in turn, could help solve other mysteries – such as how supermassive black holes formed in theEarly universe and what the first stars in the universe looked like. But research is difficult, says an astronomer at the University of Barcelona.



New observations suggest that in the early universe there were stars that were a thousand times more massive than our sun. But research is difficult.

GENEVA – About 100 million years after the Big Bang, the first stars appeared in the universe. There are now around 70 trillion stars in the visible part of the universe that can easily be mistaken for other light objects. Astronomers explore the stars with the help of electronic cameras, radio antennas and giant telescopes and can thus also draw conclusions about old stars in the early universe. Recent research has now led to surprising results: Some old stars are said to have been much larger than the specimens we see in the night sky today.

StarsMassive, self-luminous celestial bodies
CompositionPlasma and hot gas
LifetimeAbout 50 million years ago

Research on the early universe: stars are usually significantly smaller than the Sun

Not all stars are the same size, and the circumference of individual stars can change over time – many inflate towards the end of their lives and become huge as a result. This is currently the case, for example, with the star Betelgeuse, which may be on the verge of a supernova. In the process, the dying star briefly lights up brightly due to an explosion. However, new findings suggest that earlier stars were real colossi even during their lifetimes.

With special telescopes, stars can be detected and studied by researchers. © Wirestock/imago

Researchers at the University of Geneva in Switzerland evaluated images from the James Webb Space Telescope that suggest that individual stars consisted of masses of up to 10,000 suns shortly after their formation. "Thanks to the data collected by the James Webb Space Telescope, we now believe we have found the first clue to the existence of these extraordinary stars," explains astrophysicist Corinne Charbonnel in a statement from the University of Geneva.

Astronomers consider stars from early universe to be fossils

Astronomers consider so-called globular clusters to be fossils of the early universe. Above all, their chemical composition is of interest to the experts: it varies from star to star and is difficult to explain: an accumulation of helium, nitrogen and sodium as well as residues of carbon and oxygen. Most of today's stars consist of 99 percent hydrogen and helium in the form of hot plasma. The core of old stars may have been much hotter, according to the experts.

Research of stars from the early universe complicated: "only indirect traces"

However, research is difficult. "Globular clusters are between 10 and 13 billion years old, while the maximum lifetime of superstars is two million years," says Mark Gieles, an astronomer at the University of Barcelona. "Only indirect traces remain." Nevertheless, the previous findings of the research work, which was published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, will be further investigated. The researchers hope to collect more data on early galaxies to identify earlier stars. This, in turn, could help solve other mysteries – such as how supermassive black holes formed in the early universe and what the first stars in the universe looked like.

0

Also Read

Unexpected signal from an alien planet - "Clear indication that we may have something here"

READ

Surprising turn in the universe: "Star trail" is something completely different

READ

Green fireball explodes in the sky – meteor made "basically a belly splash"

READ

NASA rover makes surprising discovery on Mars

READ

When the next full moon can be seen in the sky

READ

Fancy a voyage of discovery?

My Area

Researchers have only recently succeeded for the first time in capturing a black hole that is about to launch a jet of matter into space. When a star gets too close to a black hole, it is attracted to its gravity and torn apart – this is currently the case with the "Scary Barbie" event, in which a star has been destroyed by a black hole for 800 days. (tt)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-05-28

You may like

News/Politics 2024-03-06T18:27:40.592Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.