A mysterious cosmic hum may come from 13-billion-year-old dark stars
Researchers have discovered that gravitational waves detected by pulsar timing arrays may originate from the remnants of ancient dark stars. This suggests that the background hum of the universe contains data about the birth of the first supermassive black holes.
Why it matters
This provides a new observational window into the early universe, helping scientists understand how massive black holes formed shortly after the Big Bang.
A faint background of extremely low frequency gravitational waves detected through networks of pulsars could contain clues to events that unfolded more than 13 billion years ago, including the emergence of some of the Universe's earliest supermassive black holes.
The article reports on scientific research findings without political or social framing.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in