James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post

Webb Makes First Detection of Crucial Carbon Molecule (Orion Bar Collage - NIRCam and MIRI)

These Webb images show a part of the Orion Nebula known as the Orion Bar. While observing the Orion Bar, Webb made the first detection ever of a crucial carbon molecule called methyl cation (pronounced cat-eye-on) in space. Carbon compounds are the foundation of life as we know it, and methyl cation (CH3+) plays an important role in forming more complex carbon-based molecules. Within this region, Webb found methyl cation inside a planet-forming disk surrounding a young star system. The disk was bombarded with UV radiation from nearby young stars. While UV radiation is typically expected to destroy complex carbon molecules, the science team believes it may actually be the source of energy necessary for methyl cation — and with it, more complex carbon molecules — to form. Ultimately, understanding how UV radiation changes the chemistry of these disks could tell us more about the origins of life. Read more: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/webb-makes-first-detect... In this image: The Orion Bar is a region where energetic ultraviolet light from the Trapezium Cluster — located off the upper-left corner — interacts with dense molecular clouds. The energy of the stellar radiation is slowly eroding the Orion Bar, and this has a profound effect on the molecules and chemistry in the protoplanetary disks that have formed around newborn stars here. The largest image, on the left, is from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument. At upper right, the telescope is focused on a smaller area using Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). A total of eighteen filters across both the MIRI and NIRCam instruments were used in these images, covering a range of wavelengths from 1.4 microns in the near-infrared to 25.5 microns in the mid-infrared. At the very center of the MIRI area is a young star system with a planet-forming disk named d203-506. The pullout at the bottom right displays a combined NIRCam and MIRI image of this young system. Its extended shape is due to pressure from the harsh ultraviolet radiation striking it. An international team of astronomers detected a new carbon molecule known as methyl cation for the first time in d203-506. Image description: An image made of 3 panels. The largest, left panel shows Webb’s NIRCam image of the Orion Bar. Billowy, multi-hued clouds fill the field of view. On the left side, the clouds are various shades of blue with some translucent orange wisps throughout. On the right side, the clouds vary from bright orange-red to brown. A slanted inset box in the top right of Panel 1 corresponds to a second panel at upper right. Panel 2 shows the same region as the inset box, but as seen by Webb’s MIRI instrument. In contrast to the NIRCam view, the upper left region is colored mostly orange but also red and green, while the lower right region is mostly pink, with dark blue, sparse filaments. Finally, a tiny box in the center of Panel 2 corresponds to a third panel at lower right. Panel 3 shows a blown-up view of Panel 2’s tiny box. Combining MIRI and NIRCam data, it features a yellow and orange blob on a red background. The blob is a young star system with a planet-forming disk named d203-506. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), PDRs4ALL ERS Team Image & Description by NASA