Webb telescope just found something unprecedented in the Orion Nebula - Mashable | Canada News Media
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Webb telescope just found something unprecedented in the Orion Nebula – Mashable

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Astronomers have detected for the first time in space a carbon molecule thought to be a crucial ingredient for all known life.

A team of scientists found this Holy Grail compound in the Orion Nebula, a baby star nursery about 1,350 light-years away. That may seem absurdly far, but it’s actually the closest large star-forming region to Earth.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, a preeminent cosmic observatory led by NASA and the European and Canadian space agencies, the researchers not only captured a vibrant new picture of the celestial region — blowing the socks off Hubble’s version — but found the new molecule lurking in a young star system, known as d203-506(opens in a new tab). This system has a protoplanetary disk, a sort of Lazy Susan of gas and dust rotating around the core.

Astronomers are on a quest to find signals of carbon compounds in the greater universe because this chemistry is at the root of all life, at least as far as we understand it on Earth. Coincidentally, ancient Mayan culture referred to the Orion Nebula as the cosmic fire of creation(opens in a new tab).

The mysterious signal turned out to be methyl cation, a molecule that until this week was relatively unknown to the layperson. With the announcement, NASA went so far as to provide a pronunciation guide(opens in a new tab) for the term. (For the record, it sounds like “CAT-eye-on,” not the last two syllables of “vacation.”) Organic chemists say methyl cation assists with the formation of more complex carbon-based molecules.

Since the 1970s, scientists have predicted this substance was a missing link between simple molecules and more complex organic molecules. But direct evidence of its existence in space had eluded them — until now. NASA likens the role of methyl cation to a train station(opens in a new tab), where a molecule can remain for a time before routing in one of many different directions to react with other molecules.

“This detection not only validates the incredible sensitivity of Webb but also confirms the postulated central importance of (methyl cation) in interstellar chemistry,” said Marie-Aline Martin-Drumel, one of the coauthors on the new study, in a statement(opens in a new tab).

The molecule, which was detected around a small red dwarf star, comes from a region with high levels of ultraviolet light.
Credit: ESA / Webb / NASA / CSA / M. Zamani (ESA/Webb) / PDRs4ALL ERS Team

The discovery was published(opens in a new tab) in the journal Nature on Monday, June 26, 2023.

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NASA likens the role of methyl cation to a train station, where a molecule can remain for a time before routing in one of many different directions to react with other molecules.

The molecule was found in an enormous cloud of dust and gas that hosts a multitude of stars under construction. At its center are four massive stars collectively known as the Trapezium(opens in a new tab) because they are arranged in a trapezoidal shape. The molecule, which was detected around a small red dwarf star, comes from a region with high levels of ultraviolet light from the Trapezium.

Scientists speculate that most planet-forming disks experience intense ultraviolet radiation for a time, because stars tend to form in groups that include massive UV-producing stars. The odd plot twist, however, is that UV radiation tends to destroy complex organic molecules. The research team thinks in this instance the radiation might be what’s providing the needed energy for it to form.

Despite finding this key molecule for life, the team noted the absence of another more well-known ingredient from the star system: water. This leaves more questions about ultraviolet radiation for astronomers, said Olivier Berné, lead author of the study, in a statement.

“It might actually play a critical role in the early chemical stages of the origins of life,” he said.

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The body of a Ugandan Olympic athlete who was set on fire by her partner is received by family

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.

Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.

She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.

Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.

“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.

It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.

Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.

Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.

Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.

“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.

He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.

Kenya’s high rates of violence against women have prompted marches by ordinary citizens in towns and cities this year.

Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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The ancient jar smashed by a 4-year-old is back on display at an Israeli museum after repair

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TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.

Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.

Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.

The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.

The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.

It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.

Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.

Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.

Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.

Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.

Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.

The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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B.C. sets up a panel on bear deaths, will review conservation officer training

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VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.

Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”

Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.

“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.

B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.

Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.

Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.

Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.

“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”

Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”

“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.

Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.

“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.

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