2024-03-15 00:12:07
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has made a remarkable discovery. This could help to better understand the formation of planets.
An international team of scientists has made a surprising discovery in space. With the help of NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope, researchers led by team leader Will Rocha from Leiden University in the Netherlands discovered something that one would not necessarily expect to find in space – ethanol, i.e. alcohol.
They discovered the chemical compound in the vicinity of two young protostars named IRAS 2A and IRAS 23385. They used the MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) of the James Webb Telescope. The ethanol was identified as a part of compounds made up of complex organic molecules.
The scientists also found molecules of acetic acid, formic acid, methane, formaldehyde and sulfur dioxide. Research suggests that sulfur-containing compounds such as sulfur dioxide played an important role in controlling metabolic reactions on the ancient Earth.
Protostar could provide clues to the origin of the solar system
The protostar IRAS 2A aroused particular interest. Its stage of development could be similar to that of our own solar system. The chemicals found around this protostar may have been present in ancient times and later reached primitive Earth.
Ewine van Dishoeck, also from Leiden University and coordinator of the science program, explained: “All these molecules can become part of comets and asteroids and eventually form new planetary systems.” The researchers want to pursue this trail even further in the coming years with the help of the James Webb Space Telescope.