STScI Preprint #1282
Through a combination of deep wide-field imaging and multi-object spectroscopy, the Next Generation Space Telescope will be able to chart with unprecedented accuracy the evolution of cosmic structures after the `dark ages' (z 5), when galaxies are thought to assemble and form the bulk of their stars. In this talk I will discuss how NGST observations might determine the history of the stellar birthrate in the universe and reveal the character of cosmological ionizing sources at high redshifts.
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA