Astronomers using NASA’s Webb Space Telescope have discovered the most distant carbon ever detected in the universe, appearing just 350 million years after the big bang.

This breakthrough, part of the Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey, identified carbon within a nascent galaxy that formed shortly after the universe began.

The findings, detailed in a forthcoming paper in Astronomy & Astrophysics led by astronomers from the University of Cambridge, highlight galaxy GS-z12 at a redshift greater than 12, close to cosmic dawn, Forbes reported.

This marks not only the earliest confirmation of carbon but also the first detection of any element beyond those originating from the Big Bang, challenging existing theories about cosmic chemical evolution.

Written by B.C. Begley