Research
Early galaxies in the newborn universe spread elements like carbon and oxygen way faster than anyone expected
Earth.com · By Eric Ralls ·
The Brief
- Carbon and oxygen had already spread into the gas around a galaxy seen just 500 million years after the Big Bang.
- The source reports this spread happened faster than researchers expected.
- Carbon, oxygen and other heavy elements formed inside stars after the early universe's initial hydrogen and helium.
Why it matters
It suggests early galaxies enriched their surroundings with heavy elements more quickly than expected, which bears on how models of early galaxy evolution and chemical enrichment are built.
Who’s affected
- astronomers and cosmologists studying early galaxies
- #astronomy
- #early universe
- #galaxies
- #chemical enrichment
- #carbon
- #oxygen
In its first moments, the Universe held almost nothing but hydrogen and helium. Carbon, oxygen and other heavy elements came later, made inside stars. Yet those elements had already spread into the gas around a galaxy seen just 500 million years after the Big Bang, and around two…