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A cosmic explosion whose light has taken a mere 13.14 billion years to reach earth has been detected by NASA’s Swift space observatory, making it the most distant object ever spied by a telescope, according to Space.com.
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The star would have been about 30 times the mass of our sun, according to Dr Antonino Cucchiara from the University of California, Berkeley.
The event, known as GRB 090429B to astronomers, was first noticed by Swift in April 2009; over the past two years scientists have worked on confirming the distance between it and the Earth. Observing such distances helps scientists to trying to understand how the Universe may have evolved.
Cucchiara told the BBC: “We do not have enough information to claim this was one of the so-called ‘Population III’ stars, which are the very first generation of stars in the universe. But certainly we are in the earliest phases of star formation”.
The discovery will be included in an upcoming edition of the Astrophysical Journal.
Monday 25 November, 2024
Monday 25 November, 2024
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Cosmic explosion oldest, most distant event in the universe
WHAT TOOK YOU so long?
A cosmic explosion whose light has taken a mere 13.14 billion years to reach earth has been detected by NASA’s Swift space observatory, making it the most distant object ever spied by a telescope, according to Space.com.
The star would have been about 30 times the mass of our sun, according to Dr Antonino Cucchiara from the University of California, Berkeley.
The event, known as GRB 090429B to astronomers, was first noticed by Swift in April 2009; over the past two years scientists have worked on confirming the distance between it and the Earth. Observing such distances helps scientists to trying to understand how the Universe may have evolved.
Cucchiara told the BBC: “We do not have enough information to claim this was one of the so-called ‘Population III’ stars, which are the very first generation of stars in the universe. But certainly we are in the earliest phases of star formation”.
The discovery will be included in an upcoming edition of the Astrophysical Journal.
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Cosmic Explosion Dr Antonino Cucchiara GRB 090429B NASA Population III Space Universe