Webb Telescope Detects Universe’s Most Distant Organic Molecules

hubie writes:

Complex organic molecules observed in a galaxy more than 12 billion light-years away from Earth:

The discovery of the molecules, which are familiar on Earth in smoke, soot and smog, demonstrates the power of Webb to help understand the complex chemistry that goes hand-in-hand with the birth of new stars even in the earliest periods of the universe's history. At least for galaxies, the new findings cast doubt on the old adage that where there's smoke, there's fire.

Using the Webb telescope, Texas A&M University astronomer Justin Spilker and collaborators found the organic molecules in a galaxy more than 12 billion light-years away. Because of its extreme distance, the light detected by the astronomers began its journey when the universe was less than 1.5 billion years old - about 10% of its current age. The galaxy was first discovered by the National Science Foundation's South Pole Telescope in 2013 and has since been studied by many observatories, including the radio telescope ALMA and the Hubble Space Telescope.

[...] The data from Webb found the telltale signature of large organic molecules akin to smog and smoke -building blocks of the same cancer-causing hydrocarbon emissions on Earth that are key contributors to atmospheric pollution. However, Spilker says the implications of galactic smoke signals are much less disastrous for their cosmic ecosystems.

"These big molecules are actually pretty common in space," Spilker explained. "Astronomers used to think they were a good sign that new stars were forming. Anywhere you saw these molecules, baby stars were also right there blazing away."

The new results from Webb show that this idea might not exactly ring true in the early universe, according to Spilker.

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