Searching from the back of the moon can reveal the age of the universe

We don’t know exactly how long ago the Big Bang happened, although there have been many accounts and studies over the years. To solve the mystery of the age of the universe, some astronomers are now looking into the element hydrogen.

– Hydrogen emits weak radiation, and we can observe it, says astronomer Mark Klein Walt in Science World – stars from the childhood of the universe.

Sent with a radio telescope in 2019

When China landed on the far side of the Moon in 2019, Mark Klein sent Walt up with a radio telescope. It will measure signals from the dark ages of the universe – the time between the Big Bang and the formation of the first stars and galaxies.

During the Dark Ages, space was filled with a thick haze of hydrogen atoms emitting electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength of 21 cm. The Dark Ages ended when the first stars lit up. The light from newly ignited stars changed the charge of the hydrogen atoms and they stopped radiating.

So astronomers want to measure the radiation of early hydrogen atoms in order to determine when the universe transitioned from a dark age to a luminous one.

– We had to send a radio telescope with the satellite to measure the signals from the dark ages. This is groundbreaking research. He says he is looking at something we have not seen before.

More measurements are expected

More missions to the far side of the moon are planned and scientists hope to obtain the data needed to calculate the correct age of the universe.

Science World – Stars from the Universe’s Childhood on 1/30 in SVT2 at 20:00 or whenever you like run svt.