Deep within the subtle patterns of the Orion Nebula, we have finally found an important carbon molecule never seen before in interstellar space. Methenium, also known as the methyl cation (CH₃⁺) is a carbon compound predicted to play an important role in the organic chemistry of interstellar space. Now, using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have identified it in the disk of dust and gas surrounding the baby star, confirming the plausibility of this role.

despite CH ₃₊ not considered one of the most important components for life, scientists believe it is It helps build more complex carbon molecules. Since life as we know it is based on carbon, finding CH₃⁺ There are implications for our understanding of how life could arise elsewhere in the galaxy, in interstellar space.

“This finding not only confirms Webb’s incredible sensitivity, but also confirms CH’s assumed centrality.₃⁺ “In interstellar chemistry,” says astronomer Marie-Aline Martin-Drumel of the University of Paris-Saclay in France.

CH₃⁺ It is a very interesting molecule. It reacts with many other molecules, but not with hydrogen, the most common element in our universe. This means it has the potential to be a stepping stone towards creating more complex molecules in the interstellar medium – the cornerstone of what scientists have believed for decades to be interstellar carbon, or organic chemistry.

But it was absent in observations outside the solar system, so we couldn’t be sure of its existence or role. Many such observations are made in the radio spectrum; but CH₃⁺ It does not have the properties necessary to be observed with radio telescopes.

This is where JWST comes to the rescue. Its exceptional infrared sensitivity makes it ideal for working in dusty environments where CH is expected.₃. because infrared light can pass through dust where other wavelengths are scattered.

The team, led by astronomer Olivier Bernet of the University of Toulouse in France, took a closer look at the Orion Nebula captured by the JWST Mid-Infrared Spectrometer. There, they discovered surprising bright lines in the spectrum, which can best be explained by the presence of CH.₃⁺.

The discovery site was in a disk of dust and gas orbiting a red dwarf named d203-506. This is a common feature of new stars; They arise from a dense knot of material in a molecular cloud that collapses under the influence of gravity in space. As this object rotates, it collapses into the material, forming a spinning disk around the new star, like water around a sewer.

After the star is formed, what remains of the disk begins to form other objects that make up the planetary system, such as planets, asteroids, comets, and moons. Our solar system was born from such a disk; Studying disks around other stars can help us understand how the solar system formed and how life arose there.

There is a very important point of stumbling. Protoplanetary disk d203-506 is strongly irradiated by sharp ultraviolet light from nearby massive stars and is considered a normal stage in the life of protoplanetary disks, as most stars form in stellar nurseries where these massive stars are common. Evidence from meteorites suggests that our solar system is going through a similar phase. It is believed that such radiation has a highly destructive effect on complex organic molecules. So it was a bit of a puzzle to figure out how they survived long enough for life to emerge later. Source