Berné and his fellow researchers discovered one such molecule—called methyl cation (CH3+)—using data gathered by the JWST of a planet-forming disk in the Orion Nebula roughly 1,350 lightyears away. For more than 40 years, scientists have suspected that CH3+ existed in interstellar chemistry—but haven’t actually seen it until now. The team published a paper of their findings’ on Monday in the journal Nature.
Much of the excitement behind the discovery can be attributed to the fact that CH3+ is the cornerstone for building complexity in “the most simple elements formed in the Big Bang and in stars,” Berné explained. Without it, much of space likely wouldn’t have the complex molecules that it does have.
CHUCKYSCARNAGE 