Impossible? James Webb discovers carbon in the early Universe

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is revolutionizing our understanding of the chemical evolution of the Universe by detecting a key element for life in the early ages of the Universe. This discovery promises to rewrite theories on the formation of the first galaxies and the creation of elements.


Current knowledge about the formation of metals in the Universe is based on the idea that elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, referred to as metals by astronomers, formed in stars and were dispersed by supernova explosions. It was widely accepted that this process required several generations of stars for these metals to become abundant.

The recent discovery by the James Webb Space Telescope challenges this notion. By observing a distant galaxy as it appeared 350 million years after the Big Bang, scientists identified a cloud of carbon. This is the oldest detection of an element other than hydrogen in the young Universe. This observation was made possible by the James Webb Space Telescope's near-infrared spectrograph, which allowed scientists to break down ancient light and read the chemical composition of this primitive galaxy, GS-z12.


This new discovery sharply contrasts with previous theories. Roberto Maiolino, a professor at the Kavli Institute of Cosmology, explains that previous research suggested that carbon began to form in large quantities about a billion years after the Big Bang. However, the presence of carbon detected by the James Webb Space Telescope shows that this element formed much earlier, challenging our conceptions of the first metals in the Universe.

The implications of this discovery for science are vast. It suggests that the process of carbon enrichment may have occurred much faster than previously expected in the early Universe. This challenges our understanding of the formation of galaxies and stars and opens up new perspectives on how the elements necessary for life were dispersed throughout the Universe.


In the future, this discovery raises many questions. How could carbon have formed so early? What were the characteristics of the first stars? Researchers hope that future observations with the James Webb Space Telescope and other telescopes will help answer these questions and deepen our understanding of the early Universe.