Scientists Detect Oxygen in Distant Galaxy, Challenging Early Universe Theories

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Researchers have detected oxygen in the galaxy JADES-GS-z14-0, located 13.4 billion light-years away, an announcement that could reshape our understanding of the early universe. This galaxy, first identified by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) last year, existed when the universe was merely 300 million years old.

Using the ALMA radio telescope, astronomers from the Netherlands and Italy confirmed the presence of oxygen. According to the European Southern Observatory, this finding contradicts existing theories that the "Cosmic Dawn" period primarily consisted of light elements such as hydrogen and helium. Notably, JADES-GS-z14-0 contains ten times more heavy elements than previously expected.

Sander Schouws from Leiden Observatory remarked that this discovery is akin to finding a teenager when only newborns were anticipated, suggesting rapid evolution in galaxies. Italian astrophysicist Stefano Carniani described the finding as "incredible," indicating a need for a reevaluation of how and when galaxies formed. Since JWST's operational launch in 2022, astronomers have increasingly observed that early-universe galaxies were more luminous and complex than historically believed.

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