An Irregular Background Glow (IMAGE)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

An Irregular Background Glow

Caption

After masking out all known stars, galaxies and artifacts and enhancing what's left, an irregular background glow appears. This is the cosmic infrared background (CIB); lighter colors indicate brighter areas. The CIB glow is more irregular than can be explained by distant unresolved galaxies, and this excess structure is thought to be light emitted when the universe was less than a billion years old. Scientists say it likely originated from the first luminous objects to form in the universe, which includes both the first stars and black holes.

Credit

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/A. Kashlinsky (Goddard)

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