dr-becky 3 weeks ago
astrophysicist #Space and Time

Has JWST found evidence for the First Stars to ever form?

One of JWST’s main goals has always been to find evidence of the first stars to form in the Universe.

And this month there’s a paper been published by Maiolino and collaborators claiming to have found just that, around a galaxy known as GN-z11 (the previous record holder of most distant galaxy known). But claims of evidence of the first stars in the universe, aka population III stars, are not be made lightly.


So in this video we’re going to chat about (1) what are population III stars? (2) why are they so important in the history of the universe? (3) the evidence that Maiolino et al. claim to have in GN-z11, and (4) what’s next to confirm/refute this?


00:00 - Introduction

02:06 - What are "Population III" stars (aka the first generation of stars)

05:43 - Why are Population III stars so important in the history of the Universe?

08:24 - New evidence for Population III stars from Maiolino et al

12:18 - What's next to confirm/refute this claim of Population III stars?

15:22 - Bloopers

Dr Becky Smethurst
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