First Oxygen in the Universe
Hailing from a galaxy known as MACS1149-JD1, the oxygen signature dates back to about 500 million years after the Big Bang.
This discovery also represents the most distant oxygen ever detected in the universe and the most distant galaxy ever observed by ALMA or the VLT.
"These results demonstrate the ability of ALMA as a tool to measure the redshift of distant galaxies", says Richard Bouwens, of the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, in the paper issued in the Nature journal.
"This extremely distant, extremely young galaxy has a remarkable chemical maturity to it", says Wei Zheng, lead astronomer on the study.
Scientists identified a very faint glow emitted by ionized oxygen in the galaxy. It's this light signal that ALMA has picked up some 13 billion years later, although in that time the expansion of the universe has stretched the light into the millimeter wavelength. Now, astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have detected the most distant - and hence, earliest - signature of oxygen, in a galaxy 13.28 billion light-years away.
Since oxygen first formed due to the process of nuclear fusion in the oldest stars, and was released when they died, the discovery of oxygen in MACS1149-JD1 means stars had existed long before the oxygen came to be. At the time of the observation, the Japanese researchers noticed that this galaxy housed numerous 300 million years old stars. This makes MACS1149-JD1 the most distant galaxy with a precise distance measurement and the most distant galaxy ever observed with ALMA or the VLT.
Thousands of doses of Ebola vaccine arrive in DRC
Authorities said they were tracing all air, river, and road routes in and out of the city to find the source of the virus. A first batch of 4,000 inoculations has arrived in the capital Kinshasa , with another 4,000 to follow soon after.
USA hits Hezbollah top brass with new sanctions
Recommended video:How state capitalism in hurting both the Chinese people and the communist state's trade partners... Last October, the group announced joint sanctions on top Islamic State and Al-Qaeda figures in Yemen.
More Children Ending Up In Hospitals For Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal tendencies are the inclination for a person to have suicidal ideation or to make suicide attempts. Plemmons and co-authors disclosed no relevant relationships with industry.
"This galaxy is seen at a time when the universe was only 500m years old and yet it already has a population of mature stars", said Nicolas Laporte, a researcher at University College London in the United Kingdom and second author of the new paper. "We are therefore able to use this galaxy to probe into an earlier, completely uncharted period of cosmic history".
The cloud of dust and gas left over from the Big Bang would have been mostly hydrogen in the early days, but supernovae from the deaths of the first stars would have spread elements like oxygen, carbon and nitrogen. The detection of oxygen in MACS1149-JD1 indicates that these earlier generations of stars had been already formed and expelled oxygen by just 500 million years after the beginning of the universe. A previous estimate, based on the interaction of hydrogen with the ultraviolet radiation from the earliest stars, put the stars' age at about 180 million years after the Big Bang.
Bowens points out that it is still uncertain if the star activity observed in MACS1149-JD1 also took place in different parts of the early Universe but he claims that the finding "will certainly boost similar studies of other galaxies".
One of the most burning questions on astronomers" minds is: "When did the first galaxies emerge from total darkness? By establishing the age of MACS1149-JD1, the team has effectively demonstrated that galaxies existed earlier than those we can now directly detect.
The find comes thanks to observations of an ancient galaxy known as MACS1149-JD1, first detected in 2012.
Recommended News
-
17 May 2018Keith Richards inspired the name behind this Trump-Russia investigation
Crossfire Hurricane began exactly 100 days before the November 8, 2016 presidential election won by Trump. Papadopoulos became one of Mueller's first scalps, pleading guilty to lying to officials.
17 May 2018Senate passes measure repealing changes to net neutrality rules
Tech companies have been signaling that the repeal of net neutrality could lead to significant financial consequences. It requires 218 votes to force a vote there, and only 160 House Democrats back the measure for now.
17 May 201811-year-old Girl Killed, Mom Injured by Downed Tree
Cuomo would declare a state of emergency in several counties and deployed the New York National Guard. CenHud said it expected to have the vast majority of its customers back online by 11 p.m. -
17 May 2018Twitch Lets You Filter PUBG Streams by How Many Players Left Alive
The Miramar desert map is now available in PUBG Mobile while the update also adds a handful of other features as well. The quick team feature in PUBG Mobile 0.5.0 enables players to type in a 6-digit code and team up with nearby friends.
17 May 2018No decision on Justice KM Joseph as yet
The collegium intends to send Justice Joseph's name along with other names being considered for Supreme Court judgeships. Justice Joseph's name came up for recommendation once again after the Centre had raised concerns about it.
17 May 2018Microsoft Announces Xbox Adaptive Controller For Disabled Gamers
This also included a large number of gamers with accessibility needs who work with and through these organisations. At Microsoft, we believe in empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. -
17 May 2018Harry Styles' life becomes a sitcom
Winston now works as an executive producer of The Late Late Show With James Corden , and will also executive-produce 'Happy Together' .
17 May 2018James Ransone and Andy Bean Join 'IT' as Eddie and Stanley
The film earned over $700 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing horror movie of all time. However, there are still a few Loser Club members left to cast and today's news reveals two more addition.
17 May 2018Arrested Development season 5 will be split in two
Arrested Development fans were surprised and thrilled to learn that the new season was arriving unexpectedly this month. But whatever happens, Michael will always come back to save the family. -
17 May 2018Global oil demand may suffer as crude nears $80, warns IEA
U.S. crude oil inventories decreased in the week to May 11, and the refining sector increased 149,000 barrels per day, the U.S. Record output from the United States pushed non-Opec supplies up by 2.1 million bpd year-on-year to 59.4 million bpd.
17 May 2018Supreme Court in the USA legalize Sports Betting
Shops in the downtown area say they're keeping a close eye on how sports betting will up those tourist numbers. He is a professor of constitutional and worldwide law at Harvard University and was a clerk to U.S.
17 May 2018Why Portia de Rossi has quit acting
What it means is they want you to do season six", Ellen joked. "And then they look at me and go, 'And you're horrible!' It's amusing ", she said.
.jpg)
