Astronomers have made a stunning discovery that’s shaking up our understanding of the early universe. Two teams of scientists recently detected oxygen in the most distant galaxy ever observed: JADES-GS-z14-0. This groundbreaking finding, made possible by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), offers new insights into how galaxies formed and evolved in the universe’s infancy.

A Record-Breaking Discovery

JADES-GS-z14-0 was discovered last year and holds the title of the most distant confirmed galaxy to date. It’s so far away that the light from this galaxy took a staggering 13.4 billion years to reach Earth. This means we’re observing it as it was when the universe was only about 300 million years old—just 2% of its current age.

While galaxies typically take millions or even billions of years to evolve, the discovery of oxygen in JADES-GS-z14-0 suggests that this galaxy has matured far more rapidly than scientists expected.

Oxygen: A Key to Understanding Early Galaxies

Galaxies are born with mostly light elements like hydrogen and helium. Over time, stars within those galaxies evolve and produce heavier elements such as oxygen. These heavier elements are then scattered throughout the galaxy when stars die. The expectation has always been that, given the young age of the universe—only 300 million years—early galaxies would still be quite primitive, with little oxygen or other heavy elements. But JADES-GS-z14-0 is challenging this idea.

The oxygen detected in the galaxy was found in much higher quantities than scientists thought possible for a galaxy that is just 300 million years old. In fact, the galaxy contains about 10 times more heavy elements than expected, indicating that it must have formed and matured much faster than previously believed.

What This Discovery Means for Galaxy Formation

Sander Schouws, a PhD candidate at Leiden Observatory and lead author of one of the studies, describes the find as “like finding an adolescent where you would only expect babies.” He explains that this discovery points to galaxies forming much more quickly than scientists thought, opening up new possibilities about how galaxies evolve in the early universe.

Stefano Carniani, a lead author of the second study from the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, shares his astonishment at the results. “The evidence that a galaxy is already mature in the infant Universe raises questions about when and how galaxies formed,” he said. This discovery could change our entire understanding of galaxy evolution.

A New Look at Galaxy Distances

In addition to the shocking discovery of oxygen, the detection of this element has helped astronomers measure the galaxy’s distance with incredible precision. Eleonora Parlanti, a PhD student at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, notes that ALMA’s precise detection of oxygen allowed them to refine the galaxy’s distance measurement to an astonishing accuracy of just 0.005%. This is like being able to measure a 1-kilometer distance with only a 5 cm margin of error!

This level of precision is crucial for understanding distant galaxies and their properties, which are difficult to study due to their vast distances from Earth.

ALMA and JWST: A Powerful Duo

While JADES-GS-z14-0 was initially discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), it was ALMA’s ability to detect oxygen that confirmed the galaxy’s enormous distance and provided more accurate measurements. This collaboration between ALMA and JWST is an excellent example of how combining different technologies can lead to groundbreaking discoveries in astronomy.

Rychard Bouwens, an Associate Professor at Leiden Observatory, highlights the synergy between the two instruments, saying, “This shows the amazing synergy between ALMA and JWST to reveal the formation and evolution of the first galaxies.”

A Surprising New View of the Early Universe

The detection of oxygen in JADES-GS-z14-0 has stunned astronomers and challenges our current models of how galaxies evolve. Gergö Popping, an ESO astronomer at the European ALMA Regional Centre, emphasizes the importance of this discovery, noting that it suggests galaxies may form much faster after the Big Bang than previously thought.

This find is just the latest in a series of breakthroughs that are deepening our understanding of the universe’s earliest days. The discovery of oxygen in such a distant galaxy raises many exciting questions about how galaxies formed, how quickly they evolved, and what this means for the overall history of the cosmos.

Looking Ahead

As scientists continue to study JADES-GS-z14-0 and other distant galaxies, we can expect even more surprising discoveries. The collaboration between advanced telescopes like ALMA and JWST is paving the way for a new era of astronomy, where the earliest moments of our universe are coming into clearer focus. With each new finding, we learn more about how galaxies, stars, and elements like oxygen came into existence—and what that means for our understanding of the cosmos.