A view of the region surrounding the protostar known as IRAS 23385. Image: NASA/ESA/CSA/W Rocha (Leiden University)
The researchers believe this discovery could uncover more about the origins of our solar system and how complex organic molecules are formed.
Researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope have spotted ethanol and other icy molecules in space and believe they are key ingredients to form potentially habitable planets.
The powerful space observatory turned its instruments to IRAS 2A and IRAS 23385, two young protostars – or baby stars – surrounded by various complex organic molecules (COMs).
An international team of astronomers used Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and found compounds made up of COMs such as ethanol and possibly acetic acid.
Dr Will Rocha, a postdoctoral researcher and study lead, said the discovery of these COMs could help us discover the origin of complex organic molecules in space.
“Are they made in the gas phase or in ices?” Rocha said. “The detection of COMs in ices suggests that solid-phase chemical reactions on the surfaces of cold dust grains can build complex kinds of molecules.”
The researchers said several of the discovered COMs were previously detected in the warm gas phase. The team now believes that these COMs originate from the sublimation of ices.
Sublimation is to change directly from a solid to a gas without becoming a liquid. The detection of COMs in ices has made the researchers hopeful that they will improve their understanding of the origins of other, larger molecules in space.
The team also detected simpler molecules such as formic acid, methane, formaldehyde and sulfur dioxide. The team said there is evidence that sulfur-containing compounds like sulfur dioxide played an important role in driving metabolic reactions on Earth.
The team also believe the protostar IRAS 2A may be similar to the early stages of our own solar system. If this is correct, then the chemicals identified around this protostar may help us understand how our own solar system and Earth was formed.
Last month, a group of Irish researchers used the power of James Webb to investigate what lies at the heart of a mysterious supernova.
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