Water in the universe existed long before the first galaxies appeared.

Water in the universe probably formed about 100 to 200 million years after the Big Bang, and was likely a major component of the first galaxies, according to a report published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Images of spiral galaxies captured by the James Webb Telescope

For a long time, researchers have not been able to confirm when water in the universe began to form.

Humanity has known that water is essential for life, and the components of water, hydrogen and oxygen, are formed in different ways.

Lighter chemical elements such as hydrogen, helium and lithium were created in the Big Bang, but heavier elements, such as oxygen, are the result of nuclear reactions inside stars or supernova explosions. So it is difficult to know when water first appeared.

To answer this question, astronomer Daniel Whalen and colleagues at the University of Portsmouth (UK) used computer models of two supernova explosions, the first involving a star 13 times more massive than the sun, and the second involving an object 200 times more massive than the sun.

The results showed that the first explosion produced moderate amounts of heavy elements, while the second explosion released dozens of times the mass of the sun's mass of metals into space.

Whalen and his colleagues found that oxygen cooled and mixed with hydrogen after the supernova explosion, creating water that accumulated inside the remaining material. These materials are likely the sites where the second generation of stars and subsequent planets formed.

They suggest that water-rich regions likely initiated the birth of planets at the dawn of the universe, long before the first galaxies appeared.

Therefore, water must have been a major component of early galaxies.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nuoc-trong-vu-tru-co-tu-lau-truoc-khi-cac-thien-ha-dau-tien-xuat-hien-185250304105838047.htm