Looking into the distant past (stars, universe, telescope, new)

[Brian.Pearson]

This field of astronomical research, now being called "21-centimeter cosmology," is just getting underway. Five different international collaborations are building radio telescopes to detect these types of emissions, currently focusing on the era around 500 million years after the Big Bang. Equipment can also be specifically designed for detecting signals from the earlier eras, says Prof. Barkana. He hopes that this area of research will illuminate the enigmatic period between the birth of the universe and modern times, and allow for the opportunity to test predictions about the early days of the universe.


"We know a lot about the pristine universe, and we know a lot about the universe today. There is an unknown era in between when there was hot gas and the first formation of stars. Now, we are going into this era and into the unknown," says Prof. Barkana. He expects surprises along the way, for example involving the properties of early stars, and that observations will reveal a more complicated cosmological reality than was predicted by their models.

[Glitch]

The following article points out some of the difficulties involved using the 21 cm line radiation at high redshifts.

Polarization of 21 cm Radiation from the Epoch of Reionization

[Brian.Pearson]

Hmm. I'll have to read what you've posted when I get a chance. It doesn't look like a walk in the park.