Astronomers Discover Oldest Known Star Created After The Big Bang

(CBS) -- Australian Astronomers have come up with a picture of the oldest star ever recorded -- a star created shortly after the Big Bang. WBBM's John Cody has more.

Adler planetarium researcher Shane Larson explained the star SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 was spotted by what he called a neat telescope in Siding Springs, Australia.

"Most telescopes, like if you went out in the backyard with a telescope you and I could use, you can see an area in the sky about the size of the full moon. But this telescope can see an area of the sky that is about 30 times larger than that," said Larson.

Larson says the Australians found very little iron in SMSS J0131, a sign that it was a first generation star formed shortly after the Big Bang. It's relatively nearby at only 6,000 light years from Earth.