James Webb Space Telescope makes first detection of key carbon molecule

For the first time, an international team of scientists used the powerful James Webb Space Telescope to detect a novel carbon compound in space. While carbon compounds are the building blocks of all known life, the new molecule is significant because it facilitates the synthesis of more complex carbon-based molecules.

The molecule, known as methyl cation (pronounced cat-eye-on) (CH3+), was discovered in a young star system with a protoplanetary disc known as d203-506, located about 1,350 light-years away in the Orion Nebula.

“This detection not only validates Webb’s incredible sensitivity, but also confirms the postulated central importance of CH3+ in interstellar chemistry,” said Marie-Aline Martin-Drumel, a member of the research team, in a release.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, showed that although the star in d203-506 is a small red dwarf, the system is bombarded by strong ultraviolet (UV) light from nearby hot, young, massive stars. 

Scientists believe that most planet-forming disks go through a period of such intense UV radiation, since stars tend to form in groups that often include massive, UV-producing stars.

Typically, UV radiation is expected to destroy complex organic molecules, in which case the discovery of CH3+ might seem to be a surprise. 

However, the team predicts that UV radiation might actually provide the necessary source of energy for CH3+ to form in the first place. Once formed, it then promotes additional chemical reactions to build more complex carbon molecules.

Further, the team noted that the molecules they see in d203-506 are quite different from typical protoplanetary disks. In particular, they could not detect any signs of water.

“This clearly shows that ultraviolet radiation can completely change the chemistry of a protoplanetary disk. It might actually play a critical role in the early chemical stages of the origins of life,” said lead author Olivier Berne of the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Toulouse, France.

The world’s premier space science observatory, Webb Telescope is an international programme led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.