Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have discovered a wealth of molecules that could serve as the initial building blocks of life in a bright, relatively close galaxy. The discovery could deepen our understanding of how complex carbon-based molecules form in some of the most extreme regions of the galaxy.
The team behind this research used the JWST's Near InfraRed Spectrograph (NIRSpec) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) instruments to investigate IRAS 07251–0248, an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy whose dense galactic heart is obscured by immense amounts of dust and gas. This material absorbs many wavelengths of light, except infrared. And as the JWST studies the cosmos in infrared, that makes it the ideal instrument to dive into the heart of IRAS 07251–0248 — and what it discovered there surprised astronomers.
