British Scientists Zero In On The Birth Of The Universe

British scientists from the University of Cambridge and the University
of Exeter discovered that the evolution of the Universe was much slower
than previously thought. Dr. Andrew Bunker, who studied images taken by
the Hubble Space Telescope, will present the results at a NASA workshop
today at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md.

Space & Time

The British team was the first to analyse Hubble's Ultra Deep Field
(HUDF) images, which provide mankind's deepest optical view of the
Universe. The team viewed the number of star-forming galaxies and found
that there were far less than expected. The rate at which new stars were
born was a lot slower than formerly thought. 

Scientists believe that the energy released when stars were born
provided enough radiation to lift a curtain of cold, primordial hydrogen
that formed after the Big Bang, now scientists are having to re-think
that theory. 
"We can measure how fast stars are being born in the early universe,"
said Dr. Andrew Bunker. "But our results reveal a puzzle; the birth rate
seems low compared with more recent pasts. This is not what theorists
had expected: at early times, the Universe seems to undergo a rapid
heating. The main candidate for what caused this is ultraviolet
radiation, which can be generated as stars are born. Our results suggest
this was not the case, the small number of star forming galaxies found
in the Ultra Deep Field may not be sufficient to do this. Perhaps this
heating happened further back in time, closer to the Big Bang." 

By analysing pictures taken by the Hubble telescope Bunker's team could
see almost to the beginning of time. They were able to identify 50
objects likely to be galaxies so far away that light from them has taken
13 billion years to reach the earth. The galaxies uncovered by the team
existed 95 percent of the way back to the beginning of time. This is the
closest man has ever come to the Big Bang, when the Universe was less
than a billion years old. 

Dr. Bunker's team is one of five different teams of astronomers
analysing the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF). The teams are part of an
international collaboration for space exploration and study. 

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScl) is operated by the
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA), for
NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center. The Hubble
Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA
and the European Space Agency (ESA). 

The UK's progressive science and technology environment makes it the
partner of choice for world-leading researchers, developers and
academics eager to turn knowledge into tangible innovation. Learn more
about how the UK is developing science and technology for a new world at
http://www.uksciencetech.com.
This story has been adapted from a news release issued by British
Information Services.
  
 
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