Carbon Found in Galaxy 350 Million Years Post-Big Bang

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected carbon in a galaxy observed just 350 million years after the big bang, suggesting that the conditions for life may have been present much earlier than previously thought. This discovery indicates that vast amounts of carbon were released by the first generation of stars exploding in supernovae, challenging previous beliefs that carbon enrichment occurred about 1 billion years after the big bang. The findings, which will be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, highlight the potential for early life-forming conditions in the universe.