We know quite a lot about the very early universe from observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background and about the later universe from observations of distant galaxies and supernovae. But the period between–and therefore a huge volume of the observable universe–remains unexplored. We know that during that time the universe went from dark to bright as the first stars and black holes formed and helped ionize the hydrogen between galaxies. By studying the state and distribution of that hydrogen with novel radio telescopes, we hope to soon shed light on the so-called “Cosmic Dawn” in order to test our astrophysical and cosmological theories that describe history of the universe from the Big Bang to today.

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