- We can see the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the earliest photons after the big bang still observable. This is ~14 minutes into Jan 1 if the whole age of the universe is a year. Satellites like the WMAP have done a great job of that.
- The dark ages that follow had few photon sources.
- JWST will be observing the earliest stars following that era.
The universe's history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_the_universe#/me...
- We can see the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the earliest photons after the big bang still observable. This is ~14 minutes into Jan 1 if the whole age of the universe is a year. Satellites like the WMAP have done a great job of that.
- The dark ages that follow had few photon sources.
- JWST will be observing the earliest stars following that era.
There's a proposed radio telescope (that would have to be on the far side of the moon!) to observe neutral hydrogen photon emissions from the dark ages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Ages_Radio_Explorer