A new study suggests that the earliest universe may have contained water just 100 million years after the Big Bang. Researchers from Portsmouth University used computer simulations to recreate the explosions of two stars and found that conditions were suitable for producing water even during this early period.
The simulations showed that as the stars exploded, their gases coalesced into primordial galaxies, releasing heavier elements like oxygen into the universe. The researchers believe that water was present in these galaxies due to its earlier formation in the constituent haloes.
These early stars were thought to be mostly composed of hydrogen and helium, but new data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) may have revealed the first direct evidence of their existence. When these stars exploded as supernovae, they fused gases into oxygen and created conditions for water formation.
The researchers estimate that the amount of water produced by the earliest galaxies was only ten times less than what we see in our galaxy today. This suggests that one of life’s major ingredients was abundant very long ago. The team’s findings have significant implications for our understanding of the early universe and the origins of life.
Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/water-may-have-come-into-existence-far-earlier-than-we-ever-realized