In a significant breakthrough, astronomers have witnessed a remarkable phenomenon in the distant universe, providing the first observation of a strange effect predicted by Einstein over a century ago.

The scientists have observed that events in the early cosmos appear to unfold in slow motion, a consequence of the expansion of the universe stretching time.

During their study, the researchers discovered that when the universe was just 1 billion years old, events seemed to occur about five times slower compared to the present era, The Guardian reported.

This time dilation effect was described by Geraint Lewis, the lead author of the study and a professor of astrophysics at the University of Sydney, as akin to watching a movie with the playback speed reduced.

According to Einstein’s theory of general relativity, ancient cosmic events should unfold more slowly than modern ones due to the expansion of the universe, as expounded in his seminal work on gravity in 1915.

The expansion of the universe causes light to stretch as it travels through space, resulting in longer wavelengths.

This redshift effect causes ancient galaxies to appear redder than they actually are. However, time itself is also stretched.

For instance, if a distant object emits a flash every second, the expansion of the universe ensures that more than one second passes between each flash by the time it reaches Earth.

While astronomers have previously observed stars exploding in slow motion, with the flash and fade occurring at roughly half the normal speed when the universe was half its present age, previous attempts to detect time dilation in the very early cosmos by studying highly luminous and distant galaxies known as quasars had been unsuccessful.

Lewis and his colleague Dr. Brendon Brewer from the University of Auckland conducted detailed statistical analyses on 190 quasars observed over a span of two decades, as reported by The Guardian.

Contrary to earlier studies, they found compelling evidence that cosmic events did indeed unfold much more slowly in the early universe.

The key to their success, as described in Nature Astronomy, was identifying the equivalent of a clock’s tick within the quasars’ complex and irregular light patterns.

Written by staff