JWST: Early Galaxies Spread Heavy Elements Just 500 Million Years After Big Bang

Astronomer Yongda Zhu of the University of Arizona used JWST spectra of three galaxies that existed about 500 million years after the Big Bang. Absorption lines revealed carbon, oxygen and silicon, and a blueshift showed enriched gas escaping the galaxies and possibly seeding others.

• Three galaxies observed in the Epoch of Reionization, over 13 billion light-years away
• Absorption spectra revealed carbon, oxygen and silicon
• Blueshift showed enriched gas flowing out of the galaxies
• Chemical enrichment of the cosmos began 500 million years after the Big Bang