2024-03-16 19:15:20
(CNN) — Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered common chemical components found in vinegar, ant stings and even margaritas around two young stars, according to NASA.
The complex organic molecules they observed using the space observatory’s mid-infrared instrument included acetic acid, a component of vinegar, and ethanol – commonly known as alcohol.
The team also found trace molecules of formic acid, which causes the burning sensation associated with ant stings, as well as sulfur dioxide, methane and formaldehyde. Scientists believe that sulfur compounds, such as sulfur dioxide, may have played a key role on the early Earth, eventually paving the way for life to form.
The newly discovered particles were observed as icy compounds surrounding the stars IRAS 2A and IRAS 23385, or stars so young that they have not yet formed planets. Stars form from swirling clouds of gas and dust, and the material left over from star formation gives rise to planets.
The protostar IRAS 23385 is estimated to be located 15,981 light-years from Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy, according to previous research.
The new observation interests astronomers because molecules discovered around stars could be crucial components of potentially habitable worlds, and these components could be incorporated into planets that are likely to eventually form around stars.
Space is full of heavy metals, elements, and chemical compounds created and released by star explosions over time. In turn, chemical elements fuse in clouds that form the next generation of stars and planets.
On Earth, the right combination of elements allowed life to form, and as the famous astronomer Carl Sagan once said: “We are made of star stuff.” But astronomers have long wondered how common the elements necessary for life are throughout the universe.
Searching for complex molecules in space
Previously, using the James Webb Telescope, scientists have discovered types of ice composed of various elements in the form of a cold, dark molecular cloud, an interstellar mass of gas and dust where hydrogen and carbon monoxide molecules can form. Dense clumps within these clouds can collapse to form protostars.
Detecting complex organic molecules in space helps astronomers determine the origins of molecules as well as the origins of other larger cosmic molecules.
Scientists believe that complex organic molecules are created by the sublimation of ice in space, or the process in which a solid changes into a gas without first becoming a liquid, and the discovery of the new James Webb Telescope provides evidence of this theory.
“This discovery contributes to answering one of the oldest questions in astrochemistry,” Will Rocha, leader of the James Webb Small Protostar Program and a postdoctoral researcher at Leiden University in the Netherlands, said in a statement. “What is the origin of complex organic molecules in space? Is it manufactured in the gas phase or in ice?
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