Laptop simulations present that water probably appeared within the Universe a lot sooner than beforehand thought.
Water might have first fashioned when the primary stars died in supernova explosions solely 100 million to 200 million years after the Massive Bang — billions of years sooner than scientists beforehand thought.
Astronomers have used laptop simulations to check the supernova explosions of the primary generations of stars within the Universe. The simulations present that when these stars died, they left behind oxygen and hydrogen, which reacted to kind water over the course of thousands and thousands of years to kind the primary water molecules.
This discovery means it could have been attainable for the primary liveable planets to kind early on within the historical past of the Universe, even earlier than the primary galaxies did.
“Our simulations present that water was in all probability a key constituent of the primary galaxies,” stated Daniel Whalen from the College of Portsmouth. “This means the circumstances vital for the formation of life had been in place approach sooner than we ever imagined — it’s a big step ahead in our understanding of the early Universe.”
Supernova simulations
Proper after the Massive Bang, the Universe was made fully of sunshine components, largely hydrogen and helium. Heavier components, resembling carbon and oxygen, appeared later — they had been created by way of nuclear fusion reactions within the first stars.
Water, nonetheless, is a extra advanced and fragile molecule that requires cooler temperatures to kind and stay secure. The aftermath of the primary supernova explosions could have supplied simply the appropriate circumstances, and Whalen’s group has been the primary to simulate how this may occasionally have occurred.
“Earlier than the primary stars exploded, there was no water within the Universe as a result of there was no oxygen,” stated Whalen. “Oxygen, cast within the hearts of those supernovae, mixed with hydrogen to kind water, paving the best way for the creation of the important components wanted for all times.”
The researchers simulated two varieties of supernova explosions that had been more likely to occur among the many first technology of stars, which had been a lot bigger and lived shorter than the celebs we observe within the Universe right this moment — the simulated stars had 13 and 200 instances the mass of the Solar.
The calculations confirmed that after the supernovae expanded and cooled down, oxygen reacted with hydrogen to kind water. These water molecules had been extremely concentrated in cloud cores, dense clumps of gasoline which are considered the place stars and planets first fashioned.
There was a key distinction between each varieties of supernovae. The explosion of the bigger star might produce water inside “simply” three million years — between 10 and 30 instances sooner than the smaller supernova. Most certainly, the primary water molecules appeared within the Universe when the most important stars died, as early as 100 million years after the Massive Bang.
“Though the whole water plenty had been modest, they had been extremely concentrated in the one constructions able to forming stars and planets,” stated Whalen. “These early water-rich areas probably seeded the formation of planets at cosmic daybreak, lengthy earlier than the primary galaxies took form.”
These outcomes problem earlier theories of how adolescence might have first emerged within the Universe. Nonetheless, extra analysis might be wanted to raised perceive what occurred to the primary water molecules after they fashioned in early supernovae. “How a lot water survived the cruel radiation environments of the primary galaxies stays to be decided,” stated Whalen.
The simulations solely thought-about the best attainable case, the place a single star explodes. Future research might look into how a number of overlapping supernova explosions — a extra probably situation — could have affected the formation of the primary water molecules. The researchers said of their research that, whereas additional explosions might destroy a few of the water initially fashioned, they might additionally contribute to the creation of denser cores the place it could be simpler for water to kind and survive radiation.
Reference: D. J. Whalen et al., Abundant water from primordial supernovae at cosmic dawn, Nature Astronomy (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-025-02479-w
