A window into a previously dark and secret time in our universe's history: when the first stars were born.
 
Astronomers have successfully observed a great deal of the Universe’s history, from recording the afterglow of the Big Bang to imaging thousands of galaxies, and even to visualising an actual black hole. But when it comes to understanding how the Universe began and grew, we are literally in the dark ages. In effect, we are missing the first one billion years from the timeline of the Universe.

This brief but far-reaching period in the Universe’s history, known to astrophysicists as the ‘Epoch of Reionisation’, represents the start of the cosmos as we experience it today. The time when the very first stars burst into life, when darkness gave way to light. This was the point at which the chaos of the Big Bang first began to yield to the order of galaxies, black holes and stars, kick-starting the pathway to planets, to comets, to moons and to life itself.

Incorporating the very latest research into this branch of astrophysicsDr Emma Chapman tells us how these stars formed, why they were so unusual and what they can teach us about the Universe today. She also offers a first-hand look at the immense telescopes we use to peer into the past, to take this period in the Universe’s history from the realm of theoretical physics towards the wonder of observational astronomy.
 
Contributor Bio(s)
 
Emma Chapman is a Royal Society research fellow and fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, based at the University of Nottingham. She has been the recipient of multiple commendations and prizes, including the 2018 Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship and STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowship, as well as the Institute of Physics Jocelyn Bell Burnell Prize and the Royal Society Athena Medal. Emma is a respected commentator on astrophysical matters and regularly contributes to the Guardian and BBC radio, and speaks at public events. @DrEOChapman