Exclusive: ‘Massive’ discovery raises possibility that conditions for life were present almost from dawn of time
Astronomers have detected carbon in a galaxy observed just 350m years after the big bang, in observations that raise the possibility that the conditions for life were present almost from the dawn of time.
The observations, made by the James Webb Space Telescope, suggest that vast amounts of carbon were released when the first generation of stars exploded in supernovae. Carbon is known to have seeded the first planets and is a building block for life as we know it, but was previously thought to have emerged much later in cosmic history.
More Stories
Bees face new threats from wars, street lights and microplastics, scientists warn
Bankrupt DNA testing firm 23andMe to be purchased for $256m
Sea level rise will cause ‘catastrophic inland migration’, scientists warn