A galaxy seen 13 billion years ago has just 1/240th the Sun’s oxygen abundance, offering a rare glimpse of what the ancestors of the Milky Way’s faintest neighbors may have looked like.

Some of the faintest galaxies near the Milky Way may be survivors from the earliest chapters of cosmic history. Their ancient stars preserve clues about how galaxies formed, but astronomers have struggled to connect these nearby relics to the small, primitive galaxies that existed billions of years ago.

An international research team led by Associate Professor Kimihiko Nakajima of Kanazawa University has now identified a possible link. A tiny galaxy called LAP1-B, seen as it existed 13 billion years ago, contains remarkably little oxygen and has several characteristics that resemble some of the oldest galaxies still found near the Milky Way.