With new data collected by the joint NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of scientists has — for the first time ever — detected a carbon molecule within the protoplanetary disk of a star located in the Orion Nebula. The molecule, called methyl cation (CH3+), is quite unique. The molecule doesn’t react to hydrogen all that efficiently but can react with other common molecules. This reaction allows for the creation and growth of more complex carbon-based molecules — like life.
CH3+’s potential importance in universal carbon chemistry has been predicted by scientists since the 1970s. However, until Webb officially began operations in 2022, telescopes before and since have all been unable to detect the molecule in the universe. Webb’s incredibly sensitive suite of infrared instruments allowed the team, led by Olivier Berné of the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Toulouse, to detect the molecule.