Topic: Shedding New Light on the Cosmic Dark Ages

[sam]

Remnants of the first stars have helped astronomers get closer to unlocking the “dark ages” of the cosmos. A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge and California Institute of Technology are using light emitted from massive black holes called quasars to “light up” gases released by the early stars, which exploded billions of years ago. As a result, they have found what they refer to as the missing link in the evolution of the chemical universe.

http://www.universetoday.com/82231/shedding-new-light-on-the-cosmic-dark-ages/

[Clive]

“The composition enables us to infer that the gas was released by a star 25 times more massive than the Sun and originally consisting of only hydrogen and helium."

No surprises there!  I was hoping for more.   

[sam]

indeed!