The Oldest Object

RIGHT NOW DYING LIGHT The Oldest Object hen specialized sat- “within a few hundred million years.” ellites orbiting Earth Further research using gamma-ray bursts detect a star explod- may eventually pinpoint the moment ing anywhere in the when stars began to form. Wuniverse, Edo Berger gets an alert on his Cosmic explosions emit jets of gamma cell phone. At 3:55 a.m. on April 23, the rays, a more energetic form of light even assistant professor of astronomy learned than x-rays (see the artist’s conception, of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) from a star below). But gamma rays don’t tell any- almost as old as time itself. GRB 090423, thing about the distance to an object, so which exploded more than 13 billion years when Berger first learned of the gamma- ago, at a time when the universe was just ray burst, he asked the Gemini Observa- 625 million years old, is the oldest object tory in Hilo, Hawaii, to train its telescope Tomorrow’s healthcare yet discovered. The find was significant, on the dying star. leaders will need a broad he says, because it proved that stars began The fact that there was plenty of infra- forming very quickly after the big bang: red light, but no visible light, coming from perspective and solid the explosion was “a smoking gun”: he NSF management skills. knew at once that he had found an ancient star. That’s because the early BSERVATORY/ O universe was filled with hydrogen gas Yale MBA for Executives: EMINI opaque to visible light. Later, as stars Leadership in Healthcare offers: G formed, their radiation ionized the • Rigorous MBA curriculum hydrogen, creating clear pockets that NIVERSITY/ integrated with focus on U transformed the universe into some- healthcare ARVARD ARVARD thing that Berger says resembled Swiss H cheese, before eventually reaching its • Experienced students from present, essentially transparent state. across the industry sharing The fading infrared NIVERSITY/ U afterglow of the Because all the visible light from the professional perspectives TATE TATE oldest object ever S star’s explosion had been absorbed by • Small class size, individual ENN seen: a one- to P hydrogen gas, Berger knew the light had interaction with Yale 10-million-year-old begun its journey in the early universe; star that exploded distinguished faculty and visiting infrared observations confirmed that he more than 13 industry leaders billion years ago. was looking 95 percent of the way back ) to the beginning of time. • Executive twice a month format A F C In the next five years, Berger hopes to that lets you continue your pinpoint the period when the universe career while earning your degree GUILAR ( A . A shifted from opaque to clear and also, AVID AVID D by using more detailed observations, Think about your future. to learn something about when major Think about Yale. chemical elements such as iron, oxygen, and magnesium first began to appear. “We know this process began even ear- lier,” he says, “because in this particu- lar case, 625 million years after the big bang, we already see stars, and they are Gas jets punch out already dying.” vjonathan shaw of the collapsing star and blast into space, producing gamma edo berger e-mail address: rays that can be [email protected] detected billions of gemini telescope website: light years away. mba.yale.edu/mba-e www.gemini.edu/furthestgrb 203.432.4649 Harvard Magazine 11 Reprinted from Harvard Magazine. For more information, contact Harvard Magazine, Inc. at 617-495-5746.

Load more