The First Stars

Astronomers have traditionally thought the first stars to form in the universe were giants that blazed through their short lives and exploded in titanic supernovae that seeded the universe with the heavier elements. It's a fantastic, majestic vision.

It may also be wrong. A new study at JPL, using computer simulations to re-create the early universe, suggests the first stars were much smaller than previously thought, perhaps only tens of times larger than the Sun. That would mean supernovae then were similar to supernovae today, which suggests the heavier elements built up over time.