Oxygen discovered in youngest galaxy ever
An international team of astronomers, including researchers from Leiden University, has observed oxygen in the furthest known galaxy: JADES-GS-z14-0. Light from this galaxy took 13.4 billion years to reach us. This takes us back to a period when the universe was less than 300 million years old. The discovery suggests that some galaxies grew and evolved much faster early after the Big Bang than scientists had previously assumed.
JADES-GS-z14-0: the furthest galaxy ever observed
JADES-GS-z14-0 is the most distant galaxy observed so far. The light we catch on Earth today began its journey 13.4 billion years ago - when the universe was still in its earliest phase. Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, the galaxy was discovered, and with the help of ALMA, scientists were able to observe oxygen in this distant cosmos for the first time. A unique discovery that sheds new light on the early building blocks of the universe.
Surprising evolution with Leiden contribution
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Growing up faster than expected
Scientists assumed that galaxies in the young universe would still contain hardly any heavy elements, such as oxygen. The find in JADES-GS-z14-0 therefore surprised: the galaxy appears to have already evolved chemically much further than expected. This indicates a much faster evolution of galaxies in the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang than previously assumed.
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Leiden contribution to frontier research
PhD student Sander Schouws from the Leiden Observatory led the Dutch team involved in this discovery. Working with international partners and using observatories such as ALMA and the James Webb Space Telescope, the team made an important contribution to our understanding of the early universe. Astronomer Rychard Bouwens was also closely involved in the research as a team member.