A “key molecules” factory “

He James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has given us another image for memory, but this time, beauty hides a fundamental discovery about the Chemistry of the Universe. An international astronomer team ha used the powerful webb infrared eye To unravel the complex NGC 6302 structure, better known as the Butterfly.

Trying to solve a great astrophysics question. The team of scientists has found in this nebula what could be the first direct evidence of a place of training of Policy aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in a planetary nebula.

These molecules, carbon compounds and fundamental for Prebiotic chemistrythey are an essential ingredient in the cosmos, and understanding where and how they are created is one of the great questions of astrophysics.

A chemical puzzle in the heart of the butterfly. The butterfly nebula, located about 3,800 light years awayis the spectacular remnant of a dying star much more massive than our sun. In its center is one of the most known hot stars, with a surface temperature of approximately 220,000 Kelvins. This star bombards with ultraviolet radiation the remains of gas and dust that she expelled, creating the intricate and bright ‘wings’ that give her her characteristic name.

However, NGC 6302 presented an enigma that brought scientists heading. Your spectrum It showed the simultaneous presence of oxygen rich dust (such as crystalline silicates) and carbon rich molecules (the PAH). This is extremely unusual, since the chemistry of an evolved star usually opts for one of the two elements, depending on whether in its atmosphere there is more carbon or more oxygen. Finding both in abundance was like mixing water and oil.

The Webb turns on the light in the dark. Using the Miri instrument (MID-Infrared Instrument) of the JWST, the researchers led by Mikako Matsuura of the University of Cardiff, managed to create a detailed chemical map of the heart of the nebulose, a dense and darkened area by dust.

This map deserved an article in the magazine Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society where a much more dynamic and complex structure was revealed than was thought.

An astronomical treasure. The study confirmed the existence of a dense album of dust and gas that surrounded the central star. And the album is a real treasure, because it not only contains a huge mass (between 0.8 and 3 times the mass of our sun), but is composed of grains of large crystalline silicates.

This supports the theory that this dust was formed in an environment of high intensity and slowly, conditions that would be given on a stable album, perhaps influenced by a companion star, and not in the rapid and chaotic stellar wind.

Violent bubbles and a PAH factory. One of the most surprising findings is that the nebula is not being formed by a continuous and soft stellar wind. Instead, Webb reveals that the central star has generated a series of hot gas bubbles in violent and intermittent expulsions. It is precisely on the edge of one of these “internal bubbles” where the “Eureka” moment occurred. The scientists observed a clear stratification of the materials.

Specifically, an inner layer of highly ionized gases was seen, such as magnesium and silicon, very close to the star. More outside a layer of ionized hydrogen. And coinciding with this layer, or slightly more outside, a layer of molecular hydrogen. But the most interesting thing is that the emission of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is even more outside the layers.

Something unusual to what is already known. This provision is different from that of other regions of Well -studied star traininglike the Orion bar. The researchers argue that the shock wave generated by the expansion of the hot bubble creates the perfect conditions of radiation and temperature in the material that is right in front.

This shock front triggers a chemistry that allows the formation of PAH molecules in that specific strip. Instead of being remains of the star’s past, these complex molecules would be manufactured right now, as a result of the violent nebula dynamics.

Why is it important? With this research, a first step has been taken to decipher the origin of Complex molecules in our universewhich are considered fundamental construction blocks for the precursors of life. Understanding where and how they are manufactured in the cosmos is crucial to understand the carbon cycle in the universe and the availability of prebiotic ingredients in galaxies that give a new life.

The study also demonstrates that the butterfly nebula was not formed by a soft and continuous stellar wind, but by a series of violent and energy bursts. This changes our understanding about how stars die like the sun and how their elements return to space, demonstrating that the final phase of the life of a star can be a much more dynamic process than was thought.

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