It’s 5:00 somewhere, an old country song says. Maybe even in deep space.
Knewz.com has learned about the latest stunning discovery from the James Webb Space Telescope. It found traces of alcohol.
But please don’t leap to conclusions about this and start picturing space aliens at bars.
A NASA report released Wednesday, March 13 says an instrument in the telescope noticed “complex organic molecules like ethanol,” which is used to make alcoholic beverages and some fuels.
But at least the molecules seem to be on ice. NASA claims they’re part of “icy compounds.”
The molecules were found around two protostars: IRAS 2A and IRAS 23385. Those young stars have no planets around them, but NASA scientists say the molecules are evidence that some could form.
Another molecule that the telescope noticed seems to be acetic acid, which is an ingredient in vinegar. It also found sulfur dioxide, which on Earth is considered pollution, as well as formaldehyde.
Researchers especially are interested in IRAS 2A, because they think it’s similar in some ways to the early days of our solar system. The molecules may be a hint of how Earth was formed.
The molecules also are interesting for scientists in another way. It’s a “chicken or egg” question.
“What is the origin of complex organic molecules, or COMs, in space? Are they made in the gas phase or in ices?,” researcher Will Rocha of Leiden University in the Netherlands expained.
The telescope seems to have settled that, Leiden said, as “solid-phase chemical reactions on the surfaces of cold dust grains can build complex kinds of molecules.”
The Webb Telescope already provided evidence that cold, dark clouds in the heavens contain a variety of ices.
It now appears a process called “sublimation” is involved, as molecules jump directly from solid to gas without a liquid stage. And that raises new questions.
For instance: could the ice-cold molecules move from clouds to stars? Could an asteroid or a comet carry them to the planets through space collisions?
The Mashable website noted that scientists think a large amount of water on Earth came from asteroid collisions.
“It is impressive how Webb now allows us to further probe the ice chemistry down to the level of cyanides,” Leiden University scientist Pooneh Nazari said. He explained to phys.org that cyanides are critical in understanding prebiotic chemistry.
The Webb Telescope is equipped with a variety of tools for exploring the heavens. It noticed the ethanol with a spectrometer, which can determine chemicals based on the light they produce.
That’s in addition to a giant mirror looking for light from distant objects. FrontPageDetectives.com noted in February that the telescope found a galaxy larger than our Milky Way.
A study paper on the new findings has been submitted to the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, but has yet to be published.
Yet if the findings about alcohol are accurate, they could give a completely new meaning to how “Buzz Lightyear” got his name.
The post Alcohol in Space? James Webb Telescope Finds Traces in Icy Molecules Around Young Stars appeared first on Knewz.
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Author: Richard Burkard
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