Webb Telescope detects 1st key carbon molecule
A team of international scientists has used the powerful James Web Space Telescope to detect a new carbon compound in space for the first time. While carbon compounds form the foundations of all known life, the new molecule is important because it aids the formation of more complex carbon-based molecules.
image for illustrative purpose
Washington A team of international scientists has used the powerful James Web Space Telescope to detect a new carbon compound in space for the first time. While carbon compounds form the foundations of all known life, the new molecule is important because it aids the formation of more complex carbon-based molecules.
Known as methyl cation (pronounced cat-eye-on) (CH3+), the molecule was detected in a young star system, with a protoplanetary disk, known as d203-506, which is located about 1,350 light-years away in the Orion Nebula.
"This detection not only validates the incredible sensitivity of Webb but also confirms the postulated central importance of CH3+ in interstellar chemistry," said Marie-Aline Martin-Drumel of the University of Paris-Saclay in France, a member of the science team, in a statement.
The findings, published in the journal Nature, showed that although the star in d203-506 is a small red dwarf, the system is bombarded by strong ultraviolet (UV) light from nearby hot, young, massive stars.
