Orpington Astronomical Society

Astronomy => In the Media... => Topic started by: Rick on Feb 19, 2008, 21:04:08

Title: First stars 'may have been dark'
Post by: Rick on Feb 19, 2008, 21:04:08
The first stars to appear in the Universe may have been powered by dark matter, according to US scientists.

Normal stars are powered by nuclear fusion reactions, where hydrogen atoms meld to form heavier helium.

But when the Universe was still young, there would have been abundant dark matter, made of particles called Wimps: Weakly Interacting Massive Particles.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7252428.stm