Subscribe now

Space

The first stars in the universe could have formed surprisingly early

Huge stars might have formed in the first million years of the universe if there was enough matter clumped together, according to a computer model

By Jonathan O’Callaghan

11 June 2024

An image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope showing thousands of extremely distant galaxies

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team

The first stars in the universe, huge behemoths thousands of times the mass of our sun, could have formed in the blink of an eye, cosmologically speaking, after the big bang.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been able to detect distant galaxies from when the universe was barely 300 million years old. Models suggest star formation could have begun even earlier in the 13.8-billion-year history of the universe, perhaps within 200 million years or…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox! We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

View introductory offers

No commitment, cancel anytime*

Offer ends 2nd of July 2024.

*Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues.

Inclusive of applicable taxes (VAT)

or

Existing subscribers

Sign in to your account