Published: 14:16, June 27, 2023 | Updated: 10:28, June 28, 2023
NASA's Webb space telescope detects carbon molecule
By Xinhua

These Webb images show a part of the Orion Nebula known as the Orion Bar. 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). At the very center of the MIRI area is a young star system with a protoplanetary disk named d203-506. The pullout at the bottom right displays a combined NIRCam and MIRI image of this young system. (ESA / WEBB VIA NASA)

LOS ANGELES — A team of international scientists has used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to detect a new carbon compound in space for the first time.

Known as methyl cation, the molecule is important because it aids the formation of more complex carbon-based molecules, NASA said on Monday.

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Methyl cation was detected in a young star system, with a protoplanetary disk, known as d203-506, which is located about 1,350 light-years away in the Orion Nebula.

These Webb images show a part of the Orion Nebula known as the Orion Bar. 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). At the very center of the MIRI area is a young star system with a protoplanetary disk named d203-506. The pullout at the bottom right displays a combined NIRCam and MIRI image of this young system. (ESA / WEBB VIA NASA)

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries in the solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of universe in it, according to NASA.

This image from Webb’s MIRI shows a small region of the Orion Nebula. At the center of this view is a young star system with a protoplanetary disk named d203-506. An international team of astronomers detected a new carbon molecule known as methyl cation for the first time in d203-506. (ESA/WEBB VIA NASA)

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Webb is an international program led by NASA with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.