Universe

CU researcher leads lunar observation project: Satellite will help the study of the universe’s “dark ages”

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 21:59:57 +0000

CU researcher leads lunar observation project: Satellite will help the study of the universe’s “dark ages” Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/01/2018 - 15:59

Charlie Brennan

From the Daily Camera: University of Colorado researchers are planning to put a satellite in orbit around the moon to observe what they call the universe’s “dark ages” — an era just 15 million to 30 million years after the Big Bang, before the first stars illuminated the cosmic dawn. “What we’re doing is we’re really opening up a whole new window to the early universe that has never been explored before,” said Jack Burns, a CU professor of astrophysics and planetary science and also vice president emeritus for academic affairs and research at the university. Read more...

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Dark side of the moon holds clues to early universe

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 19:18:19 +0000

Dark side of the moon holds clues to early universe Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/25/2018 - 13:18

Daniel Strain

From CU Boulder Today: The far side of the moon could give CU Boulder researchers an unprecedented look back at the early “dark ages” of the universe before the first stars had begun to flare into existence. NASA recently picked the Dark Ages Polarimetry Pathfinder (DAPPER) as one of nine small satellite missions that it will study for a potential launch next decade. The DAPPER team, which is led by CU Boulder astrophysicist Jack Burns and includes scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and NASA’s Ames Research Center, will spend the next six months crafting a detailed design of this proposed mission.

The goal is to put a satellite in orbit around the moon and, from the isolated environment of the lunar far side, observe signals from clouds of hydrogen gas in the early cosmos.

A 2018 study discovered a possible signal from the universe's first stars, which would have been blue and much bigger than stars today.

If greenlighted, the mission would allow astrophysicists to unwind the universe’s clock, revealing new information about how stars, galaxies and black holes came into being. Burns said that DAPPER could also mark a new step in lunar exploration, transforming the moon into a laboratory for far-reaching science. Read more...

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Filling in the Missing History of the Universe

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 16:59:52 +0000

Filling in the Missing History of the Universe Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/19/2017 - 10:59

Jay Bennett

From Popular Mechanics: From probing the Dark Ages of the universe to building a telescope on the moon, pinpointing the light of the first star will be no easy task.

Jack Burns is interested in the Dark Ages of the universe. His primary research team—consisting of 22 scientists from CU, UCLA, NASA Goddard, Arizona State and more—wants to know how things began. Specifically, they are working to investigate the time when the universe's very first stars were born, a period that's clouded in mystery and darkness. And they are going to do it by launching a telescope to the moon. Read more...

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