It's the first time that methyl cation has been detected in space.
Related:
Three views of a planet-forming disk in the Orion nebula taken with the James Webb Space Telescope instruments NIRCam , MIRI , and the two combined .Such intense radiation bombardment should destroy the complex organic molecules needed to form the basis of life. But we know this isn't always the case; life exists on, after all.
Despite being a relatively simple molecule, methyl cation has been at the center of cosmic carbon chemistry theories since the 1970s due to the fact that, like other carbon-containing ions , it reacts readily with a wide range of other molecules. This means it can kick-start the growth of more complex carbon molecules, even at low temperatures.
Carbon chemistry like this is of particular interest to astrobiologists, because life as we know it is carbon-based. Until JWST came long, however, astronomers weren't able to detect this carbon molecule in relatively distant planet-forming disks. This is because observing protoplanetary disks with radio telescopes requires molecules with what is known as a"permanent dipole moment," meaning that they have a positive and a negative"end." Methyl cation lacks a permanent dipole moment. And ground-based optical telescopes experience too much atmospheric interference to spot it from the light it absorbs and emits, a process called spectroscopy.
Österreich Neuesten Nachrichten, Österreich Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
Building blocks for life found in space by NASA’s James Webb Space TelescopeMethyl cation was found in a young star system with the protoplanetary disk d203-506, located about 1,350 light-years away in the Orion Nebula.
Weiterlesen »
James Webb Space Telescope detects new carbon compound in space for the first timeFor the first time, a group of international scientists have used the James Webb Space Telescope to detect a new carbon compound in space. The carbon compound is known as methyl cation.
Weiterlesen »
James Webb Space Telescope sees 1st starlight from ancient quasars in groundbreaking discoveryThe active galaxies and the feeding supermassive black hole-powered quasars are seen as they were when the universe was less than one billion years old.
Weiterlesen »
James Webb Space Telescope will help Euclid spacecraft investigate dark energy and dark matterThe telescopes will share a home in space.
Weiterlesen »
Astronomers using NASA James Webb Space Telescope discover an interconnected web of galaxiesAstronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to study black holes formed within a billion years after the Big Bang recently discovered an interconnected web of galaxies.
Weiterlesen »
See Saturn disappear in eerie, unfinished James Webb telescope imagesThe James Webb Space Telescope's new images of Saturn aren't finished, but they're still mind-blowingly cool.
Weiterlesen »