This galaxy, named SPT0311-58, was identified by researchers from the University of Illinois through the ALMA observatory in Chile. It was initially detected using the same observatory back in 2017.
.jpg)
Discovery of Water’s Existence in a Galaxy 12.8 Billion Light-Years from Earth. (Image: Twitter)
Sreevani Jarugula, an astronomer at the University of Illinois and lead author of the study, noted that carbon dioxide (CO2) was also found in this massive galaxy. With the presence of oxygen and carbon, elements deemed “essential for life” by Jarugula, the galaxy has showcased that molecular-level life formation wasn’t too far removed from the time shortly after the Big Bang – the explosion that scientists believe led to the rapid expansion of the universe as we witness today.
“This is a galaxy with more dust and gas than other primordial galaxies. This will provide us with many potential opportunities to observe numerous molecules and gain a better understanding of how the elements that constitute life affected the development of the early universe,” researcher Jarugula remarked in a statement.
The water discovery also implies that this galaxy experiences short lifecycles for its stars. While hydrogen gas originated from the Big Bang explosion, oxygen comes from dying stars.
NASA reveals that most stars typically “live” for billions of years, but this finding indicates that the stars in SPT0311-58 underwent lifecycles lasting under 1 billion years. According to researcher Jarugula, these findings highlight how water can exist in a distant location compared to Earth, while raising questions about stars and galaxies forming very early in the universe.
Early-forming galaxies are producing stars at a rate thousands of times faster than the Milky Way. Studying the gas and dust within these galaxies provides insights into their properties, such as the number of forming stars, the gas-to-star conversion rate, and the interactions between galaxies.
Joe Pesce, an astrophysicist and director at the National Science Foundation, notes that the results are “quite intriguing” and could help us understand how the universe has evolved up to this point.