It could be from the birth of the universe or the birth of the galaxy. I can't distinguish between the two. Lubowich is an author of the study, published in the June 29 issue of the journal Nature . Many researchers have argued all deuterium was made within a few minutes of the Big Bang that formed the universe 13 billion to 15 billion years ago. Elements heavier than carbon were made inside stars 1 billion to 2 billion years later, Lubowich said.
Most deuterium is burned in stars and becomes helium.
He also said the study also shows the Milky Way has far too little deuterium to ever have been a super-bright galaxy known as a quasar. It's only been measured in a few places. However, Princeton University physicist James Peebles and astronomer Edward Jenkins questioned how Lubowich could be sure most of the deuterium he measured was primordial. Lubowich said that if the deuterium was produced by stars, elements also made by stars would be present in much higher levels than have been measured. If the deuterium was an unburned leftover from dead stars, the researchers should have found one part deuterium for every trillion parts of hydrogen.