CH3+ Molecule Has Been Detected In Space:
The CH3+ molecule has been detected in space for the first time by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
- Scientists found the fingerprints of the CH3+ molecule in light coming from a swirling disk of dust and gas around a young star.
- The disk is in the Orion Nebula, 1,350 light years from Earth.
- CH3+ molecule is also known as methyl cation.
- CH3+ is a very simple organic molecule, just one carbon atom and 3 hydrogen atoms.
- It reacts with other molecules to form more complex ones.
- Its presence in space tells us that basic building blocks for life are out there.
- It is an initiator of a lot of very interesting more complex reactions
- The discovery of methyl cation in a region where planets that could eventually host life are forming may help untangle this cosmic riddle and help scientists better understand how and where in the universe life could get started.
James Webb Space Telescope:
- This telescope was built in collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency and was launched in December 2021.
- It is presently at a point in space known as the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point, approximately 1.5 million km beyond Earth’s orbit.
