http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/1...-the-universe/



Astronomers discover 13.6 billion-year-old star — the oldest in the Universe
By Reuters
Monday, February 10, 2014 8:31 EST

Australian astronomers have found the oldest known star in the universe, a discovery that may help to resolve a long-standing discrepancy between observations and predictions of the Big Bang billions of years ago.

Dr Stefan Keller, lead researcher at the Australian National University Research School, told Reuters his team had seen the chemical fingerprint of the “first star”. After 11 years of searching, the star was discovered using the SkyMapper telescope at the Siding Spring Observatory.

“This star was formed shortly after the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago,” Keller said.

“It’s giving us insight into our fundamental place in the universe. What we’re seeing is the origin of where all the material around us that we need to survive came from.”