One of the earliest galaxies in the universe has been found to be rich in oxygen, suggesting that life might have evolved sooner than previously thought.
The galaxy, named JADES-GS-z11-0, was first identified by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) during a survey of the deepest galaxies ever discovered. Initially, it was believed to exist only 100 million years after the Big Bang, which would have contradicted modern cosmology. Later measurements, however, confirmed it formed 400 million years after the Big Bang — still incredibly early but within current scientific understanding.
To investigate further, astronomers turned to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. With higher resolution capabilities than JWST, ALMA allowed scientists to study this galaxy’s properties in greater detail.
What makes JADES-GS-z11-0 extraordinary is not just its size and maturity for such an early cosmic era, but also its chemical composition. Astronomers detected oxygen in its gas clouds — an astonishing 30% of the amount found in modern galaxies. This discovery, shared in a preprint submitted to the Open Journal of Astrophysics, indicates multiple generations of stars must have already formed, lived, and died to enrich the galaxy so heavily with oxygen.
JADES-GS-z11-0 also shows extreme star formation activity. Around six solar masses of material turn into stars each year — several times more than what happens in the Milky Way today. Such rapid star creation highlights how bright and dynamic this galaxy was in the early universe.
The findings present a challenge: how could the universe produce so much oxygen in just 400 million years? Oxygen forms inside stars, which must then explode and spread elements before new stars emerge. For JADES-GS-z11-0 to reach this oxygen level, many stellar generations had to occur in a very short cosmic timeframe.
This discovery also sparks a bigger question: could life have developed earlier than assumed? With oxygen likely accompanied by carbon, silicon, and other life-essential elements, it’s possible that young planets within this galaxy could have harbored the conditions for life. While no definitive answers exist yet, the evidence reshapes how scientists think about the timeline of life in the cosmos.
