Scientists employing two gigantic telescopes—one located on Earth and the other orbiting in space—have detected oxygen within the oldest known galaxy, a cosmic entity that is shining bright just 300 million years after the Big Bang.

This primordial galaxy, designated as **JADES-GS-z14-0**, was initially uncovered in 2024 through **NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope**. Recent studies utilizing the **Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)** in Chile enabled two separate research groups to accurately assess its immense distance and validate the existence of oxygen.

This finding has unsettled the scientific realm, as it contradicts earlier assumptions that galaxies from this ancient epoch—when the universe was merely 2% of its present age of 13.8 billion years—would be devoid of substantial amounts of heavier elements. Prior to the Webb telescope, instruments such as the Hubble Space Telescope and theoretical models indicated that elements like oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen emerged only 200 to 400 million years later.

The results, published in *Astronomy & Astrophysics* and *The Astrophysical Journal*, reveal that **JADES-GS-z14-0** contains approximately ten times the heavy elements than had been anticipated. This compels scientists to rethink the processes of early galaxy formation and their rapid development.

### A New Perspective on Early Galaxies

“Prior to JWST, our observations were focused on nearby galaxies, which gave us insight into a more advanced universe,” noted **Stefano Carniani**, a researcher at Scuola Normale Superiore in Italy and lead author of one of the studies. “Our comprehension of the early universe was founded on these observations, and we presumed that this scenario was consistent across the timeline of cosmic history.”

In contrast to contemporary galaxies, where gas—the crucial ingredient for star formation—flows smoothly, early galaxies like **JADES-GS-z14-0** seem to have undergone tumultuous gas flows, occasionally amassing large reservoirs of material. This indicates that even if just a minor portion of this gas formed stars, swift growth and evolution were unavoidable.

Previously, scientists assumed that the first stars, referred to as **Population III stars**, emerged in the nascent universe before heavier elements came into existence. These massive, bright, and extremely hot stars ultimately detonated in **supernovas**, scattering heavier elements throughout space. It was believed that multiple stellar generations were necessary before galaxies contained detectable amounts of oxygen and other elements.

### A Swifter Process Than Anticipated

Yet, an additional factor may clarify the swift emergence of heavy elements: **massive stars have brief lifespans**, often lasting just a few million years. According to **Sander Schouws**, a researcher at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands and lead author of another study, this could have enabled heavy elements to disperse throughout the galaxy more swiftly than previously thought.

The **James Webb Space Telescope** has already revealed that many luminous galaxies were present during the **cosmic dawn**, a timeframe ranging from 100 million to 1 billion years following the Big Bang. Some researchers speculate that galaxies from this period formed stars more effectively, depleting most of their gas and dust. If too much gas persisted, it could dilute the heavy elements, making them less detectable.

Others suggest that intense starlight may have driven gas and dust away, resulting in galaxies appearing brighter due to less material obstructing their light. Some theories even propose that **supermassive black holes** could account for the brilliance of these galaxies, though no evidence of such a black hole has been identified in **JADES-GS-z14-0**.

### The Puzzle of Bursty Star Formation

Imagery of **JADES-GS-z14-0** indicates that its luminosity is distributed over **1,600 light-years**, implying that most of its brightness arises from young stars rather than a central black hole. If current estimates hold true, the mass of the galaxy is **hundreds of millions of times that of the Sun**.

Schouws further emphasizes another element that might complicate interpretations: **bursty star formation**. This phenomenon can make galaxies appear to form stars significantly faster than they genuinely do.

In a bursty star formation scenario, galaxies undergo episodic phases of intense brightness. Rather than generating stars at a consistent rate like the **Milky Way**, these galaxies experience rapid surges of star formation, followed by extended periods of dormancy. This could create the appearance, in a single observation, that the galaxy is evolving at a rate much quicker than it actually is.

The concept is that a generation of stars forms rapidly, then perishes in **supernovas** a few million years later. The gas resulting from these explosions might be recycled into new stars, but the process tends to be irregular.

“This is a factor we need to take into account,” Schouws remarked, “but it can be challenging.”

### A New Era of Discovery

The detection of oxygen in **JADES-GS-z14-0** represents a remarkable breakthrough that disrupts