The James Webb Space Telescope has observed frigid clouds of dust and gas where stars form, discovering a freezing element essential to the development of life.
space
January 23, 2023
In the central region of the Chameleon I cloud, light from a background star (orange) reveals elements of a cold, faint cloud of dust and gas (blue). NASA, ESA, CSA, and M. McClure (Leiden)
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) peers through frigid clouds of dust and gas, searching for elements that will eventually be incorporated into new planets. The chemistry of such molecular clouds is important for creating the building blocks of life.
The Chameleon I cloud depicted in the new JWST image is a star-forming region about 500 light-years away. The researchers explored one of the coldest, darkest regions of the cloud: a dense mass where stars are beginning to form.
The team used the faint light that passes through this area to identify the ice present there. As starlight passed through the ice, cloud atoms and molecules absorbed specific wavelengths of light, forming unique ‘fingerprints’. These fingerprints have allowed researchers to identify simple ices such as water, carbon dioxide, and ammonia, as well as more complex ices such as methanol and other organic molecules.
“Our results show that ice forms on interstellar dust particles, from which they grow into centimeter-sized pebbles, from which planets form in disks,” said Melissa McClure of the Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands. It provides insight into the early stages of dark chemistry.” statement. “this [line of study] We can see which ice mixtures, and therefore which elements, end up being transported to the surface of extraterrestrial planets or incorporated into the atmospheres of giant gas or ice planets. ”
These elements are essential for the development of life, so understanding the extent to which each element is incorporated into a nascent planet will determine how habitable that world will ultimately be. The fact that Chamaeleon I contains complex elements indicates that planets may be born with some of the building blocks of life already baked in.
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