Scientists are rethinking the timeline of water in the universe. New research suggests that water may have formed just 100 to 200 million years after the Big Bang, which is much sooner than previously thought. This raises the possibility that life could be billions of years older than we imagined.
Water is vital for life as we know it. However, the question of when it first appeared has puzzled researchers for years. According to the latest study published in Nature Astronomy, early in the universe, water was non-existent. Instead, it was mainly filled with light elements like hydrogen and helium. Heavier elements, including oxygen, only came into play after the first stars formed. These stars eventually exploded in events called supernovas, which fused lighter elements into heavier ones.
“Oxygen, created in supernovae, combined with hydrogen to form water, setting the stage for life,” said Daniel Whalen, a co-author of the study and astrophysicist at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K.
To find out when water first formed, the researchers focused on ancient supernovas, known as Population III supernovas. They studied two types: core-collapse supernovas and pair-instability supernovas. Both produced dense gas clumps shortly after the Big Bang, which likely contained water.
While the total amount of water in these gas clouds might have been small, it was concentrated in regions where stars and planets were likely to form. This means that as the first galaxies emerged, they may have already had water as a key ingredient.
Whalen noted that this discovery implies conditions necessary for life existed much earlier than we ever thought, enhancing our understanding of the early universe.
Upcoming observations from the James Webb Space Telescope may provide more insights into these findings by studying some of the oldest stars and galaxies.
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