Cosmic dawn: astronomers detect signals from first stars in the universe

'Revolutionary' observations suggest the first stars appeared 180m years after the big bang - and may hold information on dark matter

Astronomers have detected a signal from the first stars as they appeared and illuminated the universe, in observations that have been hailed as "revolutionary".

The faint radio signals suggest the universe was lifted out of total darkness 180m years after the big bang in a momentous transition known as the cosmic dawn.