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With the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago
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the Universe was born.
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In the beginning the
Universe was extremely hot
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and filled with light.
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But as it rapidly expanded
all light was lost.
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In the pitch black Universe,
only gases floated by,
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and not a single shining
star was to be seen.
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How did this total darkness
become the light-filled Universe
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that we know today?
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So the end of a dark age
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occurred when the first fluctuations
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the first over-dense
regions stopped expanding
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and contracted and somehow
turned into the first star.
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Light was introduced to this dark Universe
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for the first time.
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This change was brought about
by the celestial bodies
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known as the first stars.
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It's thought that these first
stars can be seen 13 billion
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light years away.
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Now scientists around the world
are vying to catch a glimpse
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of them.
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They were first in the
Universe, they were the first
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objects in the Universe
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and actually their existence
changed everything.
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What kind of stars were the first ever
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stars in the Universe?
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What effects did they subsequently have?
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These first stars that
transformed the dark Universe,
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filling it with light.
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Cambridge in England is
often called the birthplace
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of modern science.
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It has produced many great thinkers,
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such as Darwin, and Newton.
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Here one finds another great
thinker with a profound
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influence on the world today.
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Martin Rees is one of the worlds foremost
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astrophysicists.
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Rees aims to apply theory to
unlock the secrets of the
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history of the Universe, from
it's origin to the present.
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I think what is rather wonderful is that
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we are able as humans to
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make sense of our
environment, to understand
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how we got here, obviously
Darwinian Evolution,
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here on our planet, but we
are able to put our planet,
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the Earth, in this wider cosmic
context to trace it right
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back to the origin of the solar system,
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the origin of the galaxy,
and right back to the first
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tiny microsecond of the Big Bang
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that set everything going.
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This is how Rees believes the Universe
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came in to being.
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It is thought that the Universe began
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13.7 billion years ago.
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It all began with the Big Bang.
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The newly created Universe
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started out in a high energy state,
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filled with light.
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This was the age of light.
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Once the Universe had cooled down to
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6,000 degrees Celsius, Helium was created;
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and at 3,000 degrees, Hydrogen.
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Temperatures continued to drop.
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The Universe became filled
with just Hydrogen and Helium.
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As time passed, the visible
light that had once filled
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the Universe gradually stretched
to longer wave lengths
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and by around 500,000
years after the Big Bang
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there was no light left that could be seen.
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This marked the end of the age of light
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and the beginning of the dark
ages, according to Rees.
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Let's turn back the clock from
the present to the beginning
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of the Universe 13.7 billion years ago.
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At some point along the way
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all light is lost and darkness
envelopes everything.
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How long these dark ages
lasted and how they ended
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remains shrouded in mystery.
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One of the things I'm
very interested in myself
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is how we can actually probe the way
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the first light happened in the Universe,
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when the first structures
formed and lighted up;
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were these ordinary stars,
were they massive stars,
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were they single, were they in groups
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and how did those develop into galaxies?
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When did the first stars come into being,
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shedding light on the dark Universe?
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And what kind of stars were they?
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Prompted by these questions posed by Rees
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astronomers around the
world are now attempting
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to observe the first stars.
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One scientist is trying to observe
the first stars directly.
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For more than 30 years, Garth Illingworth
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of the University of California
has been using telescopes
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to uncover the origins of the Universe.
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It's actually interesting
because what we're doing
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here is searching for the
youngest objects and so
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with astronomy and our
telescopes what we can do
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is look back in time.
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To look at the distant Universe
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is to look at the past.
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Light emitted at a certain
moment in the past
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travels at the speed of light.
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As light travels, time continues to pass.
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And so what the observer sees at a distance
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is not the present, but in fact the past.
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In other words when we see
a star that is 10 billion
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light years away, we area
actually seeing how it looked
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10 billion years ago.
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It's exciting to be looking out to the
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earliest possible times,
one of the things that
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is behind all of what we do
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is trying to understand our
place in the Universe.
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And so as a person I think I come to this
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with a desire to really
understand our origins.
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Back when Illingworth began his research
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the largest telescopes
were the ground-based
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four meter aperture telescopes.
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At the time, he and his
colleagues focused on galaxies,
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the huge gatherings of stars
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to observe the Universe
as far away in distance
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and therefore in
time as possible.
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In 1990 this was the most distant galaxy
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that could be observed at the time.
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Observed at a distance of 7.8
billion light years away
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it showed how the galaxy
appeared 7.8 billion years ago.
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Yet this was still just
half of the Universes
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13.7 billion year history.
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It was around this time
that Hubble Space Telescope
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was launched.
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Hubble was really a game changer
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in what it did for astronomy.
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Up to that point we had
telescopes on the ground that,
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while very powerful, were rather limited,
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when we looked out through
the atmosphere it blurs,
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we can't see all different wavelengths,
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taking a telescope into
space was an amazing change
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for us.
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Suddenly we had crystal clarity,
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there's no atmosphere.
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In 2003
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Illingworth and his
colleagues set out to use
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the Hubble Space Telescope
to observe the furthest
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reaches of the Universe to date.
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The target of their
observations was one corner of
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Fornax in the southern sky.
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Using ground based telescopes
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this area appears pitch black
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with hardly anything visible.
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They thought that here they
would be able to observe
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even dark celestial objects
a great distance away.
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Hubble made observations of this one region
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over the course of 270 hours.
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This was the end result.
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Ten thousand galaxies of varying sizes
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had been captured.
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Many galaxies more than ten
billion light years away
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were also discovered.
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The Hubble Space Telescope
has allowed humans
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to capture with such clarity,
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the Universe as it was
ten billion years ago.
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By looking out even further
it may be possible
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to observe the first ever stars
that ended the dark ages.
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With this in mind Illingworth
set out to somehow
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find a way of observing the
most distant celestial objects.
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The method he came up with
was the layering over
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of images.
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He layered together 2,062 Hubble images
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captured in various observing programs.
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In September 2012
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an image was produced showing the darkest
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celestial object ever captured.
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Illingworth proceeded to
work out the distance
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of each celestial object in the image.
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He then singled out a dimly
shinning red object.
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It is the deepest image of the sky
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and so the one that is most exciting
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is this one, 6284.
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Which is the galaxy that we
first found two years ago.
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Which is a red shift a little over ten
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and then as a result is
only 450 million years
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from the Big Bang.
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The red object shows some spread
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and is irregular in shape.
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Illingworth believes that
this is a galaxy made up of
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a billion stars clustered together.
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One of the most interesting
aspects of this whole
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activity of trying to see
the earliest galaxies
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is trying to understand what came before:
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when the first stars and
when the first galaxies
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formed and started to grow.
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And that was probably
about 200 million years
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before this image.
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Thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope
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it has been possible to
get a glimpse of the
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fledgling Universe.
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Just 450 million years
after the Big Bang.
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We are just one step away
from finding the first stars
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that ended the dark ages.
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Looking into the distance
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is not the only way of searching for
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the first stars.
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Rees argues that with some ingenuity
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one need not look far to
find the first stars.
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Rees believes that among
the first stars born
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more than 13 billion years ago,
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a few still survive continuing to shine.
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The lifetime of the sun
is ten billion years.
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A star with a mass 80% of the sun
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can continue to shine for well over
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13 billion years.
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It is therefore entirely possible
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that there are first
stars still around us.
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Further more, Rees explains
that the first stars
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have a distinctive feature
not seen in other stars.
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What we don't know
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is the masses of these first stars.
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We don't know how many there were,
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we don't know exactly when they formed.
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And that is one of the frontier areas
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of our subject at the moment.
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But first stars would form from material
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made in the Big Bang which contains,
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essentially only Hydrogen and Helium.
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Immediately after the Big Bang
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only two elements, Hydrogen
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and Helium, existed in the Universe.
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It follows that if a light
star made of just these two
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elements was discovered,
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it would be a first star that
has survived to this day.
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One scientist is seeking
to prove this theory
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by seeing if there are any
surviving first stars near us.
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Anna Frebel has spent the last ten years
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searching for a first star
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made up of just Hydrogen and Helium.
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My research program focuses on finding
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the oldest most multipole stars
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and of course the ultimate goal is to find
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a first star, a star that was...
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Came first in the Universe
and changed everything.
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Born and raised in Germany,
Frebel loved stars,
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even as a child.
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On becoming an astronomer,
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she came across the
concept of searching for
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first stars and has been
absorbed by it ever since.
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Frebel is currently
carrying out observations
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at Las Campanas
Observatory in Chile.
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She is aided in her search
for the first stars
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by this telescope with
its 6.5 meter aperture.
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Using special equipment
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00:18:06,757 --> 00:18:09,933
she analyzes the colors of the stars light
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and works out what elements
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and how much of them are
found in each star.
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Can we go to target number
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eight please?
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This is a star that we observed
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earlier tonight and this is one
of the most multipole ones
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we found that's run.
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What you can see is
that the lines here
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the strong magnesium lines
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become much weaker if it was a first star
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we would see just
continue no lines at all.
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But these are pretty weak already
261
00:18:54,941 --> 00:18:57,665
so, we were almost there.
262
00:19:02,450 --> 00:19:04,454
Frebel can only make observations with
263
00:19:04,455 --> 00:19:08,310
this telescope ten days of the year.
264
00:19:14,951 --> 00:19:17,873
To maximize the precocious
time she has here
265
00:19:17,874 --> 00:19:22,992
observations are carried
out nonstop until dawn.
266
00:19:22,993 --> 00:19:26,553
Frebel has observed 1,500 stars
267
00:19:26,554 --> 00:19:28,798
over the past ten years.
268
00:19:28,799 --> 00:19:32,697
But she has yet to encounter a first star.
269
00:19:33,621 --> 00:19:36,073
If you want to find the
needle in the haystack
270
00:19:36,074 --> 00:19:38,057
you have to be very persistent.
271
00:19:38,058 --> 00:19:41,342
We are looking for objects
that are very very rare.
272
00:19:41,343 --> 00:19:45,993
So you have to sift through lots
and lots and lots of stars,
273
00:19:45,994 --> 00:19:48,510
and hopefully you are lucky in the end.
274
00:19:48,511 --> 00:19:50,601
So you have to be very patient
275
00:19:50,602 --> 00:19:53,758
and very diligent and work very hard
276
00:19:53,759 --> 00:19:55,785
but it's also a lot of fun.
277
00:19:55,786 --> 00:19:58,361
So you have to have fun as well.
278
00:20:02,185 --> 00:20:04,744
Somewhere in this starry sky
279
00:20:04,745 --> 00:20:09,699
a first star is shining,
waiting to be found.
280
00:20:10,900 --> 00:20:13,075
It can only be a matter of time,
281
00:20:13,076 --> 00:20:15,864
before it is discovered.
282
00:20:22,398 --> 00:20:26,514
Observational equipment like
ground based giant telescopes
283
00:20:26,515 --> 00:20:29,757
and the Hubble Space
Telescope are being employed
284
00:20:29,758 --> 00:20:32,845
in the search for the first stars.
285
00:20:38,569 --> 00:20:42,151
The University of Tokyo's,
Naoki Yoshida, however,
286
00:20:42,152 --> 00:20:44,349
is approaching the problem with a method
287
00:20:44,350 --> 00:20:47,544
that does not involve making observations.
288
00:20:54,654 --> 00:20:56,999
Yoshida designed a computer simulation
289
00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,431
of the newly created Universe,
290
00:20:59,432 --> 00:21:02,839
to observe how the first stars were born.
291
00:21:12,381 --> 00:21:16,156
Just 380,000 years after the Big Bang
292
00:21:16,157 --> 00:21:21,058
intense light was emitted
all over the Universe.
293
00:21:22,515 --> 00:21:25,863
By looking 13.7 billion light years away
294
00:21:25,864 --> 00:21:28,999
it should still be possible
to observe this light
295
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,368
as microwaves.
296
00:21:40,130 --> 00:21:42,439
In order to observe this light directly
297
00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:45,847
the WMAP's satellite was launched.
298
00:21:50,804 --> 00:21:53,468
The light from 13.7 billion years ago
299
00:21:53,469 --> 00:21:57,281
is observed from all
directions in the Universe.
300
00:21:59,549 --> 00:22:02,876
By measuring the differences
in the intensity of the light
301
00:22:02,877 --> 00:22:05,628
it is possible to find out
how matter was distributed
302
00:22:05,629 --> 00:22:09,142
throughout the Universe at the time.
303
00:22:11,644 --> 00:22:14,139
This is how the primitive Universe looked
304
00:22:14,140 --> 00:22:17,467
at 380,000 years old.
305
00:22:17,468 --> 00:22:20,817
The red spots show regions
of low matter density,
306
00:22:20,818 --> 00:22:24,737
while the blue spots indicate high density.
307
00:22:30,545 --> 00:22:32,998
We now know how the Universe looked
308
00:22:32,999 --> 00:22:38,923
13.7 billion years ago,
just before the dark ages.
309
00:22:50,449 --> 00:22:52,603
With a starting point established
310
00:22:52,604 --> 00:22:56,544
it's time to turn to
Yoshida and his computer.
311
00:23:15,878 --> 00:23:18,010
Working from the WMAP data,
312
00:23:18,011 --> 00:23:22,001
Yoshida used 300 million
particles to represent Hydrogen
313
00:23:22,002 --> 00:23:25,797
and Helium and recreated
the infant Universe
314
00:23:25,798 --> 00:23:27,819
in his computer.
315
00:23:34,630 --> 00:23:39,402
What looks like smoke
are actually particles.
316
00:23:40,368 --> 00:23:43,503
The laws of nature that
function between the particles
317
00:23:43,504 --> 00:23:45,637
should remain the same today
318
00:23:45,638 --> 00:23:49,079
as they were 13.7 billion years ago.
319
00:23:49,911 --> 00:23:51,814
Using 107 formulae
320
00:23:51,815 --> 00:23:54,118
including the equations of fluid dynamics
321
00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:56,316
that govern the motion of gas,
322
00:23:56,317 --> 00:23:59,537
Einsteins equations for the
expansion of the Universe
323
00:23:59,538 --> 00:24:01,649
and the equations for
the chemical reactions
324
00:24:01,650 --> 00:24:03,889
of Hydrogen and Helium,
325
00:24:03,890 --> 00:24:06,174
Yoshida made accurate calculations
326
00:24:06,175 --> 00:24:08,654
of the particles behavior.
327
00:24:12,073 --> 00:24:13,693
This is the young Universe
328
00:24:13,694 --> 00:24:16,931
as recreated by Yoshida's computer.
329
00:24:17,193 --> 00:24:19,581
It shows, for the first time
330
00:24:19,582 --> 00:24:22,243
how the dark ages looked.
331
00:24:27,923 --> 00:24:29,458
The Hydrogen and Helium
332
00:24:29,459 --> 00:24:31,229
that had been drifting about
333
00:24:31,230 --> 00:24:34,403
start becoming uneven in density.
334
00:24:38,995 --> 00:24:40,957
The gasses begin to gather together
335
00:24:40,958 --> 00:24:42,983
under their own gravity
336
00:24:42,984 --> 00:24:46,157
and create a spiderweb like structure.
337
00:24:52,734 --> 00:24:56,371
It took seven years to
attain these results.
338
00:25:05,784 --> 00:25:08,855
A spherical mass of gas has been formed,
339
00:25:08,856 --> 00:25:11,986
but no first star yet.
340
00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:14,893
To keep looking beyond this point
341
00:25:14,894 --> 00:25:18,706
calculations within smaller
time frames were necessary.
342
00:25:21,763 --> 00:25:26,170
And so three years were spent
developing a new model.
343
00:25:26,171 --> 00:25:28,055
To recreate what happened
344
00:25:28,056 --> 00:25:31,229
at the center of the clouds of gas.
345
00:25:34,605 --> 00:25:37,245
These are the results.
346
00:25:40,962 --> 00:25:44,801
The onion like structure
shows the density of gas.
347
00:25:44,802 --> 00:25:48,231
The density increases towards
the center of the mass.
348
00:25:49,069 --> 00:25:52,148
Here's what happens as time passes.
349
00:25:53,967 --> 00:25:56,633
The density of the gas
at the top and bottom
350
00:25:56,634 --> 00:25:59,273
decreases.
351
00:26:00,559 --> 00:26:02,670
Meanwhile, the gas at the sides
352
00:26:02,671 --> 00:26:05,609
does not decrease in density.
353
00:26:06,660 --> 00:26:08,750
The gas flows into the center
354
00:26:08,751 --> 00:26:11,817
and the core becomes increasingly heavy.
355
00:26:13,508 --> 00:26:16,025
The gas continues to be compressed
356
00:26:16,026 --> 00:26:18,713
and when the center reaches
a searing temperature
357
00:26:18,714 --> 00:26:21,822
of 100 million degrees Celsius
358
00:26:24,324 --> 00:26:26,648
nuclear fusion begins
359
00:26:26,649 --> 00:26:29,848
and the Universe produces
a self illuminating star
360
00:26:29,849 --> 00:26:32,949
for the very first time.
361
00:26:32,950 --> 00:26:35,774
This is the first star.
362
00:26:57,198 --> 00:26:59,288
Yoshida's calculations showed that
363
00:26:59,289 --> 00:27:02,530
many of the first stars were massive stars
364
00:27:02,531 --> 00:27:06,408
that emit an intense blue-white light.
365
00:27:09,870 --> 00:27:13,922
They weigh 50 times the mass of the Sun.
366
00:27:13,923 --> 00:27:17,843
And they are an outstanding
million times brighter.
367
00:27:18,523 --> 00:27:20,676
Heavy stars burn up quickly
368
00:27:20,677 --> 00:27:24,396
and so they only live a few million years.
369
00:27:32,743 --> 00:27:36,710
This is the story of the birth
of the very first star,
370
00:27:36,711 --> 00:27:41,676
as revealed by Yoshida's computer model.
371
00:27:47,591 --> 00:27:51,003
380,000 years after the big bang
372
00:27:51,004 --> 00:27:55,116
an intense flash of light was
emitted all over the Universe.
373
00:27:55,122 --> 00:28:00,022
And then came the dark ages,
when darkness reigned.
374
00:28:03,527 --> 00:28:06,896
During this time only
Hydrogen and Helium gasses
375
00:28:06,897 --> 00:28:09,878
were present in the Universe.
376
00:28:12,359 --> 00:28:14,768
There was some irregularity
in the distribution
377
00:28:14,769 --> 00:28:17,238
of these gasses.
378
00:28:25,222 --> 00:28:28,656
Gas was drawn into the
denser regions by gravity
379
00:28:28,657 --> 00:28:32,128
creating a cloud of gas.
380
00:28:54,726 --> 00:28:56,197
The temperature at the center
381
00:28:56,198 --> 00:28:58,837
became increasingly hot.
382
00:29:03,814 --> 00:29:07,055
When it reached 100 million degrees Celsius
383
00:29:07,056 --> 00:29:09,317
nuclear fusion began,
384
00:29:09,318 --> 00:29:13,237
blasting off the surrounding gas.
385
00:29:21,435 --> 00:29:24,842
And so the first star was born.
386
00:29:30,459 --> 00:29:33,082
The temperature of the
bright blue surface is
387
00:29:33,083 --> 00:29:36,255
100,000 degrees Celsius.
388
00:29:37,392 --> 00:29:41,738
Its brightness a million
times that of the sun.
389
00:29:49,402 --> 00:29:51,663
Emitting vast amounts of energy,
390
00:29:51,664 --> 00:29:56,664
the first star moves ever
closer to its dramatic fate.
391
00:30:00,445 --> 00:30:03,956
A few million years have
passed since its birth.
392
00:30:06,082 --> 00:30:08,663
The star bursts in a huge explosion
393
00:30:08,664 --> 00:30:11,815
and it comes to the end of its life.
394
00:30:29,527 --> 00:30:32,129
This is the life of the first star
395
00:30:32,130 --> 00:30:36,262
brought to light by the
latest astronomical research.
396
00:30:46,871 --> 00:30:50,582
Yoshida's calculations have
revealed the spectacular ending
397
00:30:50,583 --> 00:30:53,437
to a first stars life.
398
00:30:53,438 --> 00:30:56,427
The explosion lasts just a moment
399
00:30:56,428 --> 00:30:58,795
but releases such an
intense burst of energy
400
00:30:58,796 --> 00:31:01,334
that it may be possible to observe it
401
00:31:01,335 --> 00:31:05,787
even if it happened more than
13 billion light years away.
402
00:31:10,209 --> 00:31:13,067
SWIFT is an astronomy space craft
403
00:31:13,068 --> 00:31:17,581
launched in 2004 to observe
massive, explosive phenomena.
404
00:31:28,530 --> 00:31:31,921
When a huge star like a first star explodes
405
00:31:31,922 --> 00:31:34,652
it emits intense electromagnetic waves
406
00:31:34,653 --> 00:31:36,866
called gamma rays.
407
00:31:39,496 --> 00:31:43,415
This phenomena is known
as a gamma ray burst.
408
00:31:46,813 --> 00:31:49,692
By detecting the abrupt
appearance of gamma rays
409
00:31:49,693 --> 00:31:53,207
SWIFT can seek out the
massive explosions of stars.
410
00:31:56,583 --> 00:31:59,334
On April 29th, 2009
411
00:31:59,335 --> 00:32:02,407
SWIFT detected a five
second long gamma ray burst
412
00:32:02,408 --> 00:32:05,686
in the constellation Canes Vanetici.
413
00:32:14,226 --> 00:32:16,465
When a massive explosion is detected,
414
00:32:16,466 --> 00:32:20,044
researchers around the world
are alerted immediately.
415
00:32:21,863 --> 00:32:23,590
The news sent a ripple of excitement
416
00:32:23,591 --> 00:32:26,443
through astronomers world wide.
417
00:32:36,881 --> 00:32:39,611
Among them was Antonino Cucchiara
418
00:32:39,612 --> 00:32:42,150
who was a student at
Pennsylvania State University
419
00:32:42,151 --> 00:32:43,894
at the time.
420
00:32:44,092 --> 00:32:46,395
We needed to act right away.
421
00:32:46,396 --> 00:32:48,848
The main reason for that
was we had access to
422
00:32:48,849 --> 00:32:50,043
Hawaiian telescopes
423
00:32:50,044 --> 00:32:53,755
and I was in the east coast
and it already was night
424
00:32:53,756 --> 00:32:56,549
so it was sunset in Hawaii,
425
00:32:56,550 --> 00:32:58,678
so the night was just started.
426
00:32:59,473 --> 00:33:01,733
By turning the telescope to the explosion
427
00:33:01,734 --> 00:33:03,909
immediately after its detection
428
00:33:03,910 --> 00:33:07,232
it would be possible to
make detailed observations.
429
00:33:12,379 --> 00:33:15,194
At the time, Cucchiara was in Pennsylvania
430
00:33:15,195 --> 00:33:17,877
on the east coast of America.
431
00:33:21,382 --> 00:33:25,648
The telescope was in Hawaii,
8,000 kilometers west,
432
00:33:25,649 --> 00:33:28,736
with a time difference of five hours.
433
00:33:33,115 --> 00:33:36,015
The sun was setting in
Hawaii when SWIFT detected
434
00:33:36,016 --> 00:33:38,229
the explosion.
435
00:33:44,656 --> 00:33:46,383
At the Gemini observatory
436
00:33:46,384 --> 00:33:50,244
on the 4,200 meter high summit of Mauna Kea
437
00:33:50,245 --> 00:33:53,823
preparations were underway
for scheduled observations.
438
00:33:58,523 --> 00:34:00,100
Astronomer, Kathy Roth
439
00:34:00,101 --> 00:34:03,742
was working in the lab when a
Target of Opportunity alarm
440
00:34:03,743 --> 00:34:06,815
flashed up on the computer screen.
441
00:34:10,554 --> 00:34:13,556
Attention,
target of opportunity.
442
00:34:18,085 --> 00:34:19,471
So at night when we're observing
443
00:34:19,472 --> 00:34:21,199
if we receive a new rapid T.O.O alert
444
00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:23,972
we interrupt what we're doing,
the scheduled observation
445
00:34:23,973 --> 00:34:26,489
so that we can focus on the new T.O.O.
446
00:34:26,490 --> 00:34:29,172
Just like we did back in April 2009.
447
00:34:32,271 --> 00:34:34,254
Roth stopped what she was doing in order
448
00:34:34,255 --> 00:34:38,196
to help with the Target of
Opportunity Observation.
449
00:34:43,130 --> 00:34:46,798
Two and a half hours after SWIFT
had detected the explosion
450
00:34:46,799 --> 00:34:49,721
a giant eight meter aperture
telescope was turned
451
00:34:49,722 --> 00:34:51,458
to its direction.
452
00:34:56,149 --> 00:34:59,492
The observations were
carried out for 15 minutes.
453
00:35:05,621 --> 00:35:07,919
But nothing could be seen.
454
00:35:14,346 --> 00:35:16,201
It was this blank image, however,
455
00:35:16,202 --> 00:35:18,607
that excited Cucchiara.
456
00:35:20,938 --> 00:35:23,818
If we don't see anything
in your optical images
457
00:35:24,738 --> 00:35:27,676
it's already a sign that
this object can really be
458
00:35:27,677 --> 00:35:29,489
one of those most interesting ones.
459
00:35:29,490 --> 00:35:32,940
So it was very exciting,
everybody was excited.
460
00:35:35,570 --> 00:35:37,554
Light emanating from the distant Universe
461
00:35:37,555 --> 00:35:40,582
of the first stars has
its wavelength stretched
462
00:35:40,583 --> 00:35:43,334
by more than ten times
under the influence of
463
00:35:43,335 --> 00:35:45,572
Cosmic Expansion.
464
00:35:46,773 --> 00:35:49,695
This has the effect of changing
the light into infrared
465
00:35:49,696 --> 00:35:52,698
waves invisible to the human eye.
466
00:35:56,693 --> 00:36:00,106
In other words, if this
were a first star explosion
467
00:36:00,107 --> 00:36:03,156
it wouldn't be visible as ordinary light
468
00:36:03,157 --> 00:36:05,625
but only as infrared.
469
00:36:07,423 --> 00:36:10,537
I think was like 3 a.m in
the morning at that point
470
00:36:10,538 --> 00:36:13,396
so it was kind of interesting
because at that point
471
00:36:13,397 --> 00:36:16,852
my colleague in Europe
and U.K were well awake
472
00:36:16,853 --> 00:36:18,942
so I coordinate with them
473
00:36:18,943 --> 00:36:21,630
we decided to go with another
set of observations,
474
00:36:21,631 --> 00:36:23,630
the infrared.
475
00:36:24,468 --> 00:36:27,961
Roth, meanwhile was busy
in the control room.
476
00:36:30,612 --> 00:36:34,153
This is the RAW acquisition
image in the R-Band
477
00:36:34,154 --> 00:36:35,902
and this is the finding chart.
478
00:36:35,903 --> 00:36:38,953
What you would expect is you
would see an object here
479
00:36:38,954 --> 00:36:43,134
which I don't, I don't
see anything there,
480
00:36:43,135 --> 00:36:45,758
so we zoom in a little bit
to look a little harder,
481
00:36:45,759 --> 00:36:47,971
change its stretch but...
482
00:36:48,575 --> 00:36:50,238
I still don't see anything here.
483
00:36:50,239 --> 00:36:53,160
So then we take an image
in the infrared however,
484
00:36:53,161 --> 00:36:55,422
K-Band in this case
485
00:36:55,423 --> 00:36:59,419
then you start to see, there
is a faint object there.
486
00:37:01,742 --> 00:37:03,725
If this explosion had occurred more than
487
00:37:03,726 --> 00:37:08,162
13 billion light years away,
it's possible it was a star
488
00:37:08,163 --> 00:37:11,106
from more than 13 billion years ago.
489
00:37:11,107 --> 00:37:14,152
In other words, a first star.
490
00:37:17,166 --> 00:37:20,365
To calculate the accurate
distance from the exploding star
491
00:37:20,366 --> 00:37:24,439
Cucchiara decided to carry out
a third set of observations.
492
00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:28,680
Using equipment that analyzes
the colors in light.
493
00:37:32,824 --> 00:37:35,890
But luck was not on their side.
494
00:37:39,373 --> 00:37:41,122
The weather up on the summit,
495
00:37:41,123 --> 00:37:45,384
which had been fine up until
then, suddenly turned.
496
00:37:45,385 --> 00:37:48,029
Clouds spread across the sky.
497
00:37:50,509 --> 00:37:51,810
Actually I think it was a phone call from
498
00:37:51,811 --> 00:37:54,113
one of the telescope operators
499
00:37:54,114 --> 00:37:57,761
saying, "I'm sorry but the
clouds just roll over"
500
00:37:57,762 --> 00:37:59,425
"and we need to close the dome."
501
00:37:59,426 --> 00:38:03,393
And we were like, ok, I
mean we were like...
502
00:38:03,394 --> 00:38:05,676
It was really interesting but
503
00:38:05,677 --> 00:38:07,240
there is some thing we don't have power on.
504
00:38:07,241 --> 00:38:09,481
And that's the weather.
505
00:38:12,879 --> 00:38:15,246
The next day the telescope was turned to
506
00:38:15,247 --> 00:38:17,571
the same spot again.
507
00:38:17,572 --> 00:38:20,152
The light was to faint,
however, to carry out the
508
00:38:20,153 --> 00:38:22,643
intended observations.
509
00:38:26,980 --> 00:38:30,131
But Cucchiara did not give up.
510
00:38:32,100 --> 00:38:33,635
Over the course of a year,
511
00:38:33,636 --> 00:38:35,982
he set out trying to work out the distance,
512
00:38:35,983 --> 00:38:38,579
using the infrared images.
513
00:38:42,190 --> 00:38:44,365
When the infrared images were captured
514
00:38:44,366 --> 00:38:47,283
several different filters were used.
515
00:38:50,958 --> 00:38:54,605
At wavelengths any shorter
than the filter labeled J,
516
00:38:54,606 --> 00:38:56,760
nothing can be seen.
517
00:38:56,761 --> 00:38:59,362
By analyzing the images captured by Gemini
518
00:38:59,363 --> 00:39:01,858
they could work out the
approximate distance from the
519
00:39:01,859 --> 00:39:04,456
celestial object.
520
00:39:06,382 --> 00:39:08,983
The farthest you push an object
521
00:39:08,984 --> 00:39:11,551
in distance, meaning also in time,
522
00:39:11,552 --> 00:39:15,092
is a very close to the
beginning of the Big Bang,
523
00:39:15,093 --> 00:39:16,905
you going to start losing information
524
00:39:16,906 --> 00:39:19,486
you start losing light,
first you lose the UV light
525
00:39:19,487 --> 00:39:22,217
then the optical and
maybe start seeing some
526
00:39:22,218 --> 00:39:24,350
losing light also from the infrared.
527
00:39:24,351 --> 00:39:27,166
And that means also the object
is actually high red shift
528
00:39:27,167 --> 00:39:29,824
or means like in this
case 500 million years
529
00:39:29,825 --> 00:39:31,803
after the Big Bang.
530
00:39:33,132 --> 00:39:35,584
By observing many more distant explosions
531
00:39:35,585 --> 00:39:38,549
like this, scientists can determine when
532
00:39:38,550 --> 00:39:42,150
and how many, first stars were born.
533
00:39:53,548 --> 00:39:56,597
Martin Rees believes that the
appearance of the first stars
534
00:39:56,598 --> 00:39:59,604
transformed the course of
history for the Universe.
535
00:40:00,524 --> 00:40:03,737
In order for us to be here, then
536
00:40:03,738 --> 00:40:05,871
lots of things have to
have happened over the
537
00:40:05,872 --> 00:40:09,198
13.7 billion years since the Big Bang.
538
00:40:09,199 --> 00:40:11,865
The first stars have to have formed
539
00:40:11,866 --> 00:40:16,964
and they need to have
led to nuclear fusion
540
00:40:16,965 --> 00:40:20,142
transmuting primordial Hydrogen and Helium
541
00:40:20,143 --> 00:40:25,385
into elements like
Carbon, Oxygen and Iron.
542
00:40:26,821 --> 00:40:28,718
The first stars were born out of just
543
00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:30,979
the Hydrogen and Helium that existed
544
00:40:30,980 --> 00:40:33,705
in the Universe at the time.
545
00:40:40,580 --> 00:40:44,462
Inside the first stars,
nuclear fusion took place,
546
00:40:44,463 --> 00:40:46,979
creating elements like Carbon, Nitrogen,
547
00:40:46,980 --> 00:40:52,435
Oxygen and Iron out of
the Hydrogen and Helium.
548
00:40:58,948 --> 00:41:02,382
When the first stars meet
their demise in an explosion,
549
00:41:02,383 --> 00:41:05,888
these elements are scattered
throughout space.
550
00:41:16,027 --> 00:41:18,864
One scientist is making
observations of the elements
551
00:41:18,865 --> 00:41:21,318
created by the first stars.
552
00:41:24,978 --> 00:41:28,471
Timothy Beers is searching
for the second stars
553
00:41:28,472 --> 00:41:32,161
the second generation stars
born just after the first stars
554
00:41:32,162 --> 00:41:34,118
exploded.
555
00:41:37,858 --> 00:41:41,825
Second stars contain elements
such as Carbon and Oxygen
556
00:41:41,826 --> 00:41:45,212
that were created by the first stars.
557
00:41:48,332 --> 00:41:50,742
It was thought that the
quantity of these elements
558
00:41:50,743 --> 00:41:52,513
would be just one ten-thousandth
559
00:41:52,514 --> 00:41:55,238
of what is found in the Sun.
560
00:42:03,671 --> 00:42:06,379
Beers hopes that by investigating
the quantities of elements
561
00:42:06,380 --> 00:42:07,915
found in stars,
562
00:42:07,916 --> 00:42:11,131
he will be able to find the second stars.
563
00:42:14,551 --> 00:42:16,789
In order to make the search more efficient
564
00:42:16,790 --> 00:42:19,280
he employed a special method.
565
00:42:22,956 --> 00:42:26,406
The technique is called Objective Prism.
566
00:42:28,566 --> 00:42:31,467
By placing a giant prism
in front of a telescope
567
00:42:31,468 --> 00:42:34,133
the light of each star
that had looked like dots
568
00:42:34,134 --> 00:42:37,371
appears as thin bands of rainbow colors.
569
00:42:40,449 --> 00:42:42,666
This is the spectrum created when sunlight
570
00:42:42,667 --> 00:42:45,221
is put through a prism.
571
00:42:48,065 --> 00:42:50,773
A closer look reveals faint black lines
572
00:42:50,774 --> 00:42:52,987
among the rainbow.
573
00:42:55,574 --> 00:42:58,432
These are caused when the elements
contained in the sunlight
574
00:42:58,433 --> 00:43:01,797
absorb certain colors of light.
575
00:43:06,774 --> 00:43:10,480
These black lines are known
as Absorption Lines.
576
00:43:16,928 --> 00:43:19,487
The Sun produces so many Absorption Lines
577
00:43:19,488 --> 00:43:23,173
because it contains huge amounts
of many different elements.
578
00:43:28,939 --> 00:43:32,543
The second stars that Beers is
looking for on the other hand
579
00:43:32,544 --> 00:43:35,700
contain hardly any elements
apart from Hydrogen
580
00:43:35,701 --> 00:43:37,471
and Helium, which means
581
00:43:37,472 --> 00:43:40,943
there should be very few Absorption Lines.
582
00:43:46,922 --> 00:43:49,951
Beers used two telescopes
in Chile and America
583
00:43:49,952 --> 00:43:53,679
to capture a total of 340 photographs.
584
00:44:01,408 --> 00:44:05,263
The glass photographic plates
have been carefully stored.
585
00:44:10,282 --> 00:44:14,223
Each glass plate depicts 10,000 stars.
586
00:44:20,671 --> 00:44:23,422
Up close, Absorption Lines can be seen
587
00:44:23,423 --> 00:44:26,218
on most of the stars.
588
00:44:29,718 --> 00:44:31,038
Once we take the plates
589
00:44:31,039 --> 00:44:33,619
with a telescope such
as the Burrell Schmidt,
590
00:44:33,620 --> 00:44:35,902
that's really only the
beginning of the effort.
591
00:44:35,903 --> 00:44:37,758
We have to find the most interesting
592
00:44:37,759 --> 00:44:40,041
chemically ancient stars.
593
00:44:40,042 --> 00:44:43,049
With that microscope we
can determine whether
594
00:44:43,050 --> 00:44:47,011
a star was likely to be interesting or not.
595
00:44:49,385 --> 00:44:50,878
Using this method
596
00:44:50,879 --> 00:44:55,246
this candidate was singled out
as a potential second star.
597
00:44:56,724 --> 00:45:01,070
It certainly shows almost
no Absorption Lines.
598
00:45:04,855 --> 00:45:07,816
Such candidate stars were then
observed through a larger
599
00:45:07,817 --> 00:45:09,966
telescope.
600
00:45:11,892 --> 00:45:16,472
This enabled Beers to pick
out 1,044 second stars.
601
00:45:22,814 --> 00:45:26,013
This is a star located in Pisces.
602
00:45:26,014 --> 00:45:28,616
Its iron levels were found
to be one ten-thousandth
603
00:45:28,617 --> 00:45:30,536
of those of the Sun,
604
00:45:30,537 --> 00:45:32,264
which allowed Beers to conclude
605
00:45:32,265 --> 00:45:34,989
that it was a second star.
606
00:45:39,347 --> 00:45:42,504
A further investigation
threw up a surprise.
607
00:45:42,505 --> 00:45:45,042
The carbon levels were 100 times greater
608
00:45:45,043 --> 00:45:47,555
than what was predicted.
609
00:45:52,958 --> 00:45:56,541
The first stars had produced
a great quantity of Carbon;
610
00:45:56,542 --> 00:46:00,184
which had then been passed
on to the second stars.
611
00:46:00,638 --> 00:46:03,325
One of the most exciting
results of the last
612
00:46:03,326 --> 00:46:06,141
two or three years has been the recognition
613
00:46:06,142 --> 00:46:09,063
that the first stars produce
614
00:46:09,064 --> 00:46:12,754
very large amounts of Carbon,
Nitrogen, and Oxygen.
615
00:46:12,755 --> 00:46:15,591
The three fundamental
elements without which,
616
00:46:15,592 --> 00:46:20,440
as far as we know, no
life can be formed.
617
00:46:25,524 --> 00:46:27,165
The various elements produced by
618
00:46:27,166 --> 00:46:29,917
the first stars are inextricably linked
619
00:46:29,918 --> 00:46:33,944
to the birth of ordinary
stars, like our Sun.
620
00:46:38,686 --> 00:46:42,904
This is the theory put
forth by one researcher.
621
00:46:46,579 --> 00:46:48,626
John Wise is working on a simulation
622
00:46:48,627 --> 00:46:51,399
of the Universe after the first stars.
623
00:46:51,400 --> 00:46:54,637
Incorporating the elements they produced.
624
00:46:57,779 --> 00:46:59,975
According to Wises simulation
625
00:46:59,976 --> 00:47:03,197
the first stars themselves
did not cluster together
626
00:47:03,198 --> 00:47:05,858
to form galaxies.
627
00:47:07,208 --> 00:47:09,938
A few hundred million years
after the first stars
628
00:47:09,939 --> 00:47:14,263
were born, galaxies formed
where the stars had been.
629
00:47:15,997 --> 00:47:18,520
How were these galaxies created?
630
00:47:23,710 --> 00:47:27,111
Let us study the simulation in more detail.
631
00:47:28,199 --> 00:47:31,169
The top half of the screen
shows Wises simulation
632
00:47:31,170 --> 00:47:32,748
of the Universe.
633
00:47:32,749 --> 00:47:35,649
While the bottom half shows
the distribution of elements
634
00:47:35,650 --> 00:47:39,569
such as Carbon, Oxygen
and Iron at the time.
635
00:47:40,706 --> 00:47:43,921
This is what happens as time progresses.
636
00:47:49,645 --> 00:47:51,884
As the first stars explode,
637
00:47:51,885 --> 00:47:56,124
huge volumes of elements are
scattered in certain areas.
638
00:47:59,778 --> 00:48:02,742
A multitude of stars are
created where there are high
639
00:48:02,743 --> 00:48:04,939
concentrations of elements,
640
00:48:04,940 --> 00:48:07,921
giving rise to galaxies.
641
00:48:15,756 --> 00:48:17,974
In areas with high levels of Carbon,
642
00:48:17,975 --> 00:48:19,766
Oxygen and Iron,
643
00:48:19,767 --> 00:48:23,392
small stars like the Sun are
born one after the other
644
00:48:23,393 --> 00:48:25,888
out of these elements.
645
00:48:25,889 --> 00:48:29,131
Wise believes these were the
beginnings of the galaxies
646
00:48:29,132 --> 00:48:31,409
we see today.
647
00:48:33,868 --> 00:48:37,174
These first stars, they
produced the very first metals
648
00:48:37,175 --> 00:48:40,978
in the Universe, and
without these first metals
649
00:48:40,979 --> 00:48:44,257
we wouldn't see any of the
stars that we see today.
650
00:48:45,117 --> 00:48:47,292
The explosions of the first stars changed
651
00:48:47,293 --> 00:48:49,889
the Universe irrevocably.
652
00:48:55,699 --> 00:48:57,596
The explosions caused elements like
653
00:48:57,597 --> 00:49:02,413
Carbon, Oxygen and Iron
to scatter all around.
654
00:49:03,464 --> 00:49:06,130
These became the building
blocks from which a whole host
655
00:49:06,131 --> 00:49:10,221
of lighter stars like the Sun were born.
656
00:49:22,301 --> 00:49:26,602
These stars clustered
together forming galaxies.
657
00:49:29,787 --> 00:49:32,837
In other words, these first stars
658
00:49:32,838 --> 00:49:35,780
paved the way to our present Universe
659
00:49:35,781 --> 00:49:39,786
full of stars and full of life.
660
00:49:41,163 --> 00:49:45,191
The first stars brought
light to a dark Universe.
661
00:49:49,421 --> 00:49:52,214
It's thanks to these first
stars that the Universe
662
00:49:52,215 --> 00:49:56,326
we know is filled with light
and a multitude of elements.
663
00:50:02,988 --> 00:50:07,167
Stars like the Sun and
lifeforms like ourselves
664
00:50:07,168 --> 00:50:10,691
can all be traced back to the first stars.
665
00:50:17,886 --> 00:50:20,637
These are the great stars that shaped the
666
00:50:20,638 --> 00:50:23,512
destiny of our Universe.
52406
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