In a discovery that’s shaking up our understanding of the early universe, two teams of astronomers have independently detected oxygen in the most distant galaxy ever observed—JADES-GS-z14-0. This mind-bending find, reported in two separate studies, reveals a galaxy far older and more chemically complex than anyone expected to exist just 300 million years after the Big Bang.
The revelation was made possible by the extraordinary power of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a network of 66 high-precision radio telescopes perched in Chile’s Atacama Desert. ALMA is no stranger to peering deep into cosmic history, but this time, it has pushed the boundaries of what we thought was possible.
For years, astronomers have wondered how quickly galaxies formed after the universe’s fiery birth. Now, thanks to this discovery, they are rethinking the speed and processes that shaped the cosmos.
Meet JADES-GS-z14-0: A Galaxy from the Dawn of Time
Discovered in 2023, JADES-GS-z14-0 is more than just another distant smudge of light. This galaxy holds the current record for being the most distant confirmed galaxy ever found. Its light took an astonishing 13.4 billion years to reach Earth, meaning we are seeing it as it was when the universe was less than 300 million years old—just 2% of its present age.
At that epoch in cosmic history, the universe was still in its infancy, dark matter was shepherding clouds of gas into the first galaxies, and the first stars were igniting. Astronomers expected young, primitive galaxies made mostly of hydrogen and helium, with little to no heavier elements, known as “metals” in astronomical terms. But JADES-GS-z14-0 has just rewritten that chapter.
Oxygen Where There Shouldn’t Be Any
Using ALMA, astronomers have now detected clear signatures of oxygen in JADES-GS-z14-0. That’s a big deal. Oxygen isn’t forged in the fires of the Big Bang—it’s created inside stars and spread through galaxies when those stars explode or blow off their outer layers at the end of their lives.
And yet, here it is, just 300 million years after time began: a galaxy already teeming with oxygen. Not just a trace amount, either. According to the observations, JADES-GS-z14-0 has about ten times more heavy elements than scientists expected to find in such a young galaxy.
“It is like finding an adolescent where you would only expect babies,” explains Sander Schouws, a Ph.D. candidate at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands and the lead author of one of the studies, soon to be published in The Astrophysical Journal. “The results show the galaxy has formed very rapidly and is also maturing rapidly, adding to a growing body of evidence that the formation of galaxies happens much faster than we thought.”
A Galaxy That Grew Up Too Fast
In the standard story of galaxy formation, heavy elements like oxygen should be scarce in the earliest epochs. Galaxies were supposed to spend hundreds of millions of years building up their inventories of metals through successive generations of stars. But JADES-GS-z14-0 seems to have skipped ahead.
“I was astonished by the unexpected results because they opened a new view on the first phases of galaxy evolution,” says Stefano Carniani of the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, and lead author of the second study, accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysics. “The evidence that a galaxy is already mature in the infant universe raises questions about when and how galaxies formed.”
Was this galaxy a rare cosmic outlier? Or have astronomers been underestimating the speed and efficiency of galaxy formation in the early universe? These are questions scientists are now scrambling to answer.
ALMA’s Sharp Eyes and Unprecedented Precision
What makes this discovery even more impressive is the level of precision achieved in determining the galaxy’s distance. Thanks to ALMA’s ultra-sensitive detection of oxygen, astronomers have pinned down JADES-GS-z14-0’s distance with remarkable accuracy—within an uncertainty of just 0.005%.
“To put that in perspective,” explains Eleonora Parlanti, an author and Ph.D. student at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, “this level of precision is like knowing the length of a 1-kilometer race to within five centimeters.”
This extraordinary measurement cements JADES-GS-z14-0’s place as the farthest galaxy ever confirmed, and it demonstrates the power of combining data from different astronomical observatories. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) first spotted the galaxy, but it took ALMA’s unique capabilities to confirm its distance and provide a window into its chemical makeup.
A Synergy of Space and Earth
“While the galaxy was originally discovered with the James Webb Space Telescope, it took ALMA to confirm and precisely determine its enormous distance,” says Associate Professor Rychard Bouwens of Leiden Observatory, a member of the Dutch research team. “This shows the amazing synergy between ALMA and JWST to reveal the formation and evolution of the first galaxies.”
This partnership between space-based and ground-based observatories is proving to be a game-changer for astronomy. JWST’s infrared eyes can spot faint galaxies at vast distances, but ALMA can tell us what they’re made of. Together, they’re uncovering a universe that’s richer and more complex than anyone imagined.
Galaxies: Fast and Furious Builders
The discovery of mature, oxygen-rich galaxies like JADES-GS-z14-0 so soon after the Big Bang has deep implications for cosmology. The standard model of the universe may need some updates to account for these speedy builders.
“I was really surprised by this clear detection of oxygen in JADES-GS-z14-0,” says Gergö Popping, an astronomer at the European Southern Observatory’s ALMA Regional Center, who wasn’t involved in either study. “It suggests galaxies can form more rapidly after the Big Bang than had previously been thought. This result showcases the important role ALMA plays in unraveling the conditions under which the first galaxies in our universe formed.”
The findings challenge long-held assumptions about star formation rates, chemical enrichment, and the timeline for galaxy evolution in the early universe. If galaxies like JADES-GS-z14-0 were common in those early days, the universe may have become complex far more quickly than standard theories predict.
What’s Next? A New Era of Discovery
This discovery is just the beginning. JWST is continuing its mission to find more of these ancient galaxies, while ALMA fine-tunes our understanding of their contents. Together, these instruments are opening a new chapter in our exploration of cosmic history.
Astronomers hope to find more galaxies like JADES-GS-z14-0—and maybe even more distant ones. Each new find helps piece together the puzzle of how galaxies, stars, and planets came to be. It also raises new questions about the processes that govern galaxy formation and evolution.
Was JADES-GS-z14-0 fed by streams of pristine gas that allowed it to grow so quickly? Did it undergo massive bursts of star formation? Or did other, more exotic processes play a role?
These are the mysteries that the next decade of astronomy may solve. For now, JADES-GS-z14-0 stands as a cosmic time capsule, offering an astonishing glimpse into the dawn of galaxies.
Fast Facts: JADES-GS-z14-0
- Distance from Earth: 13.4 billion light-years
- Age of the Universe at the Time: Less than 300 million years old
- Discovery Instruments: James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)
- Significant Finding: Clear detection of oxygen, indicating rapid galaxy evolution
- Implication: Galaxies may have formed and matured far faster after the Big Bang than previously thought
In Conclusion
JADES-GS-z14-0 isn’t just the most distant galaxy ever discovered—it’s a gateway to a universe that evolved much more rapidly than we dared imagine. Thanks to ALMA and JWST, we’re witnessing the first hints of a new cosmic narrative. One where galaxies are born fast, grow up quickly, and light up the universe with their complexity far sooner than science once believed.
As astronomers continue to explore the farthest reaches of space and time, one thing is certain: the universe still holds plenty of surprises.
References: Sander Schouws et al, Detection of [OIII]88µm in JADES-GS-z14-0 at z=14.1793, The Astrophysical Journal (2025). www.eso.org/public/archives/re … eso2507/eso2507b.pdf
Stefano Carniani et al, The eventful life of a luminous galaxy at z=14: metal enrichment, feedback, and low gas fraction?, Astronomy & Astrophysics (2025). DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202452451. www.eso.org/public/archives/re … eso2507/eso2507a.pdf