The 21 cm line

Faint radio glow from the early universe may hold hidden clues about the first stars. Illustration: depositphotos.com

13-billion-year-old radio signal may reveal the first stars in the universe

An international team led by the University of Cambridge shows that the 21-centimeter signal from hydrogen atoms at cosmic dawn is sensitive to the mass of the first stars (Population III), and that the REACH and SKA radio observatories will be able to map how the universe evolved.