The powerful eye of the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered important chemicals around two young stars.
Astronomers focused a space observatory orbiting a million miles from Earth on the regions of space around these protostars that are too young to have yet formed planets.But it almost certainly will: NASA suspects nearly every star has at least one planet.
And in these planet-forming regions, the Webb telescope discovered “complex organic molecules” including ethanol (the alcohol found in alcoholic drinks) and another component found in vinegar. Importantly, these components that form icy material in the frigid cosmos may one day become part of future solar system objects, such as large space rocks that can transport organic molecules and important materials to planets. That means it’s possible. (many earth’s waterFor example, it could be caused by an asteroid impact. )
“All of these molecules can become part of comets and asteroids, and ultimately new planetary systems, as icy material is transported inside planet-forming disks as protostar systems evolve. ”, an astronomer at Leiden University, said, “The new study shows that NASA statement. “We look forward to using more web data in the coming years to follow this astrochemical trajectory step by step.”
New study accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal astronomy and astrophysics.
The Webb telescope is equipped with an instrument called a spectrometer that can detect the composition of distant objects and places, such as the atmospheres of extraterrestrial planets. A spectrometer, like a prism, separates the light coming from these objects. Different elements and molecules absorb different types of light, so the light Webb sees can tell him what chemicals are present and what aren’t.
The first image below shows the different light spectra that Webb captured while scanning the distant protostar IRAS 2A. Ethanol was present in different groups of ice-like substances.
In addition to alcohol, the Webb telescope also detected formic acid, methane, and possibly acetic acid, NASA said. Importantly, these are “critical elements for creating a potentially habitable world,” the space agency said.
A habitable world is one that has conditions that support life, but this does not mean that life exists there. NASA is currently investigating potentially habitable worlds, some of which may resemble Earth covered in oceans.
Powerful capabilities of the Webb telescope
The Webb Telescope, a scientific collaboration between NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency, is designed to peer into the deepest universe and reveal new insights into the early universe. But along with the planets and moons of our solar system, we also peek at some interesting planets in our galaxy.
Here’s how Webb accomplished his unparalleled feat and is likely to do so for decades to come.
– Giant Mirror: Webb’s light-catching mirror is more than 21 feet in diameter. This is more than 2.5 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope’s mirror. By capturing more light, Webb will be able to see ancient objects farther away. As mentioned above, this telescope is observing stars and galaxies that formed more than 13 billion years ago, just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.
In 2021, “we will see the first stars and galaxies that have ever formed,” Gene Clayton, an astronomer and director of the Manfred Olson Planetarium at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, told Mashable in 2021. .
– Infrared view: Unlike Hubble, which primarily observes light that we can see, Webb is primarily an infrared telescope, meaning it observes light in the infrared spectrum. This allows us to see the universe much more broadly.Infrared is longer wavelength Light waves pass through the clouds of space more efficiently than visible light. Light is less likely to collide with or scatter from these densely packed particles. Ultimately, Webb’s infrared vision can penetrate places Hubble cannot reach.
“It lifts the veil,” Clayton said.
– Peek into distant exoplanets: As mentioned above, the Webb telescope Equipped with special equipment called a spectrometer It will revolutionize our understanding of these distant worlds. The instrument can decipher what molecules (such as water, carbon dioxide, and methane) are present in the atmospheres of distant exoplanets, whether they are gas giants or smaller rocky worlds. Mr. Webb observes exoplanets in the Milky Way. You never know what you’ll find.
“We might learn things we never thought possible,” said exoplanet researcher and astrophysicist Mercedes López Morales. Center for Astrophysics – Harvard University and Smithsonian Universityhe told Mashable in 2021.
Already astronomers have managed to discover interesting chemical reactions on a planet 700 light-years away, and as mentioned above, the observatory is one of the most promising places in the universe – the rocks of the Trappist Sun. We have started observing many Earth-sized planets. system.
