The components of biology have been discovered at the coldest and darkest
place we have yet to see them because to JWST's unmatched capacity to peek
into the veiled hearts of faraway clouds.
The data from the telescope have shown the presence of frozen carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur - elements essential to the formation
of atmospheres and molecules such as amino acids - collectively known as
CHONS - in a molecular cloud called Chamaeleon I, located over 500
light-years from Earth.
According to astronomer Maria Drozdovskaya of the University of Bern in
Germany, "These elements are crucial components of primordial compounds,
such as simple amino acids - and hence ingredients of life, in a
sense."
More complex molecules including water, methane, ammonia, carbonyl sulfide,
and the organic molecule methanol have also been found in frozen forms by an
international team of researchers led by astronomer Melissa McClure of
Leiden University in the Netherlands.
Stars and their planets are created in cold, dense clusters in molecular
clouds. The molecular cloud that gave birth to the Sun is thought to have
contained CHONS and other molecules, some of which were later transported to
Earth by collisions from frozen comets and asteroids.
Even while the atoms and molecules found in Chamaeleon I are presently
floating about in a tranquil manner, they may one day become involved in
planet formation and transport the elements required for the advent of life
to brand-new newborn planets.
Astronomer Will Rocha of Leiden Observatory says, "Our discovery of complex
organic molecules, including methanol and maybe ethanol, also implies that
the numerous star and planet systems emerging in this specific cloud will
inherit molecules in a rather sophisticated chemical state.
This may imply that the occurrence of primordial chemicals in planetary
systems is a typical byproduct of star creation rather than a peculiarity of
the Solar System.
One of the nearest active star-forming areas to Earth is Chamaeleon I, a
frigid, dense, and black mass of ice and dust. To better understand how
these components are absorbed into newly developing worlds, we may gain a
better knowledge of the components that go into star and planet formation by
taking a census of the galaxy's makeup.
More clearly and precisely than any previous telescope, JWST can see
through thick dust thanks to its powerful infrared detection capabilities.
This is due to the fact that infrared wavelengths of light don't scatter off
dust particles the way shorter wavelengths do, allowing telescopes like JWST
to see through dust more efficiently than optical telescopes like
Hubble.
The chemical makeup of the dust in Chamaeleon I is identified by absorption
characteristics, according to researchers. Elements and molecules within the
cloud can absorb starlight passing across it. Various substances absorb
light at various wavelengths. These absorbed wavelengths are darker when a
spectrum of the emerging light is gathered. The components present may then
be identified by analyzing these absorption lines, according to
scientists.
For a census of Chamaeleon I's composition, JWST looked deeper than we've
ever seen. It discovered ices colder than any previously recorded in space,
at around -263 degrees Celsius, silicate dust grains, the aforementioned
CHONS and other molecules, and other materials (-441 degrees
Fahrenheit).
And they discovered that the amount of CHONS was less than expected for the
cloud density, with just around 1% of the anticipated sulfur. This implies
that the remaining components could be trapped somewhere that is impossible
to quantify, such inside rocks and other minerals.
The team wants to gather more information because it's currently tough to
estimate without it. More observations will allow them to better understand
how these ices evolved, from covering the arid grains of a molecular cloud
to becoming part of comets and potentially even seeding planets.
It will take many spectral pictures for McClure and his team to fully
understand how the ices develop from their initial synthesis to the
comet-forming areas of protoplanetary discs.
This information will help us determine which ice mixtures, and
consequently which elements, may one day be transported to the surfaces of
exoplanets that are similar to Earth or absorbed into the atmospheres of
gigantic gas or ice worlds.
The research has been published in
Nature Astronomy.
