Researchers using James Webb have peered into a molecular cloud to look for these ices which could be formed into future exoplanets.
Here’s how to build an exoplanet: You start off with a star that’s surrounded by a disk of dust and gas. As the star burns and sends out gusts of stellar wind, the dust in the disk begins to interact and form into clumps. These clumps attract more dust, turning into pebbles, and then into rocks, and the gas helps these rocks stick together. They grow, picking up more and more material and clearing their orbit around the star.
Now, researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope have peered into the cold, dark depths of a molecular cloud to look for these ices which could form the basis for future exoplanets. Looking at a cloud of dust and gas called Chameleon I they were able to identify ices made from water as well as other molecules like ammonia and methane.
An important finding was the identification of a complex organic molecule, methanol. Known as the building blocks of life, organic molecules are key to understanding how life may be able to develop in environments beyond Earth. The researchers used Webb’s high sensitivity to get spectroscopic data from the molecular cloud, located 631 light-years from Earth. They have further research planned to learn more about the role of ices in the formation of planets and their relationship to habitability.
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