The protostar Ced 110 IRS 4 emits orange light by receiving infrared light from a bluish interstellar cloud. Provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has identified ice in an interstellar cloud 630 light-years from Earth. Found in one of the coldest and darkest regions of the universe, this ice has been analyzed to exist at the lowest temperature ever found in space.
An international research team led by Professor Melissa McClure of Leiden University in the Netherlands and others published the results of this research on the 23rd (local time) in the international journal Nature Astronomy.
Interstellar clouds are formed by gathering interstellar matter such as gas, plasma, and dust that exists between celestial bodies. The distribution density of interstellar matter is high, so it is called an interstellar cloud because it has a cloud-like shape. When an interstellar cloud contracts under the influence of gravity, a star is born.
Ice molecules present in interstellar clouds are an important research subject for elucidating the process of star formation. This is because in order to create a celestial body, essential elements must be obtained from ice.
The research team used the James Webb telescope to identify ice in an interstellar cloud located near the constellation of the Chameleon in Antarctica. It was observed in the ‘Dark Side’, the coldest and darkest area in the interstellar cloud. According to the research team, this ice exists in an environment of minus 263 degrees Celsius. It is the coldest environment of all ice ever discovered in space. This is also the first time that ice has been found in the center of an interstellar cloud.
As a result of the analysis, this ice was different from the ice found so far. The total amount of “CHONS,” the sum of the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur required for star formation, was less than that of ordinary ice. In particular, sulfur, the most important component of stars, contained only about 1% of what was expected. “This could mean that CHONS is trapped in stony dust particles,” the research team explained. “This raises the possibility that the composition of Earth-like planets may be more diverse.”
The James Webb Telescope succeeded in this observation through a high-performance near-infrared camera (NIRICam) and mid-infrared instrument (MIRI). In order to identify molecules in the interstellar cloud, a highly sensitive observation function that can precisely detect and resolve the light reflected from the molecules is required.
