Discovering the Ancient Origins of Water: A Key Element in the Formation of the Universe’s First Galaxies

New research suggests that water might have formed in the universe much sooner than we thought—just 100 to 200 million years after the Big Bang. A study published in Nature Astronomy dives into this intriguing possibility.

Water is essential for life. Its basic elements, hydrogen and oxygen, were created in different ways. Hydrogen, helium, and lithium came from the Big Bang itself, while oxygen formed later through nuclear reactions in stars and supernovae. This makes understanding when water emerged in the universe quite complex.

Research led by Daniel Whalen and his team ran simulations of two supernovae: one from a star 13 times heavier than the sun and another from a star 200 times heavier. They discovered that these cosmic explosions produced significant amounts of oxygen—about 0.051 solar masses in the first simulation and 55 solar masses in the second—due to the extreme temperatures and pressures involved.

As the oxygen gas cooled and combined with leftover hydrogen from the supernovae, water began to form in dense clumps of material. These clumps were likely sites for the birth of the second generation of stars and planets.

In the first simulation, the team found that water could reach quantities equivalent to one hundred millionth to one millionth of a solar mass within 30 to 90 million years after the supernova. The second simulation showed water accumulation of about 0.001 solar masses after just 3 million years.

If this water survived the chaotic formation of early galaxies, it suggests that a significant amount could have been integrated into planet formation billions of years ago.

This discovery changes how we view the early universe and opens the door to new questions about the origins of water and, ultimately, life itself.

For more details, check out the research by D. J. Whalen et al. in Nature Astronomy. You can find the study here.