The 'first stars,' or Population III stars, were the universe's initial stellar generation, emerging after the Big Bang's dark ages. These massive, metal-free...
The first stars are primarily known as Population III stars, a classification distinguishing them from later stellar generations containing more heavy elements.
These pioneering stars are believed to have formed approximately 100-200 million years after the Big Bang, marking the period known as the 'Cosmic Dawn'.
The first stars were likely very massive (dozens to hundreds of times the Sun's mass), extremely hot, luminous, and composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium, lacking heavier elements.
They ended the universe's 'dark ages,' reionized hydrogen, and, through their deaths, seeded the cosmos with the first heavy elements, essential for the formation of later stars, planets, and galaxies.