James Webb Space Telescope Spots the Universe’s First Stars

About this episode

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have found evidence of the universe's first stars formed shortly after the Big Bang.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have uncovered the strongest evidence yet of the universe’s first stars. Observations of an object called Hebe, near the galaxy GN-z11, point to stars formed just 400 million years after the Big Bang. By detecting ionized helium and hydrogen without heavy elements, researchers confirm predictions that these primordial stars were massive, hot, and chemically pure, ranging from 10 to 100 times the Sun’s mass. Backed by two independent studies, the discovery offers a rare glimpse into how the first stars drove the chemical evolution of the cosmos. Thank you for listening to Bedtime Astronomy — your guide to the cosmos. New episodes on space exploration, NASA missions & the latest astronomy breakthroughs. This episode includes AI-generated content.

Topics covered

• James Webb Space Telescope
• first stars
• cosmic evolution
• astronomy discoveries
• Big Bang

Keywords

• James Webb Space Telescope
• first stars
• Hebe
• GN-z11
• Big Bang
• cosmic evolution
• astronomy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: James Webb Space Telescope

Places: Hebe, GN-z11

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