Utilizing JWST, investigators have identified several intricate molecules with a carbon base in the ice surrounding ST6, a nascent star located within the Large Magellanic Cloud.(Image credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/JPL-Caltech/M. Sewiło et al. (2025))
For the inaugural time, researchers have detected an array of complex components essential for life’s creation present in the ice around a distant star, beyond the confines of the Milky Way galaxy.
With the aid of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scientists pinpointed five substantial, carbon-based substances encircling a protostar situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a minor galaxy that orbits in close proximity to the Milky Way. As per a study detailed on Oct. 20 in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, these discoveries may aid scientists in unraveling the formation of intricate molecules during the universe’s earliest epochs.
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“The lessons we glean from the Large Magellanic Cloud can be used for a deeper understanding of more remote galaxies dating back to a much earlier epoch of the universe,” voiced Marta Sewilo, an astronomer from the University of Maryland and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, and a co-author of the study, in a statement. “These severe conditions enhance our knowledge of complex organic chemistry’s potential within these ancient settings, where the availability of heavy elements, such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, crucial for chemical processes, is significantly diminished.”
In March of 2024, researchers aimed the JWST at a developing star, known as ST6, within the Large Magellanic Cloud. By employing instruments capable of measuring infrared light, they successfully detected five intricate carbon-based molecules ensnared in the star’s surrounding ice: methanol, acetaldehyde, ethanol, methyl formate, and acetic acid.
Among the identified molecules, methanol stands as the solitary compound previously observed in protostars located beyond the Milky Way. Notably, acetic acid, a key ingredient in vinegar, had never been definitively verified in space ice before.
“Prior to the Webb telescope, methanol was the singular complex organic molecule that had been definitively identified in ice surrounding protostars, even within our own galaxy,” Sewilo noted. “The remarkable caliber of our recent observations empowered us to gather an expansive array of information from a solitary spectrum, surpassing any prior acquisition.”
Additionally, the research team picked up signals potentially indicative of a chemical compound referred to as glycolaldehyde, though more investigation is necessary to substantiate its existence. Glycolaldehyde possesses the capacity to engage with other molecules, facilitating the creation of a sugar variant recognized as ribose, a pivotal element of ribonucleic acid (RNA), which is indispensable for life.
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The presence of such intricate molecules in the Large Magellanic Cloud implies that chemical reactions occurring on the surfaces of dust particles are capable of generating complex molecules, even amidst challenging circumstances, according to the research team. Their future endeavors involve probing for these and related molecules in the vicinity of other protostars, both within the Milky Way and in neighboring galaxies.
“This finding marks a noteworthy step forward in our understanding of how complex chemistry originates in the cosmos, while also paving the way for investigations into the origins of life,” Sewilo concluded in the statement.
TOPICSMilky Way
Skyler WareSocial Links NavigationLive Science Contributor
Skyler Ware is a freelance science journalist covering chemistry, biology, paleontology and Earth science. She was a 2023 AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow at Science News. Her work has also appeared in Science News Explores, ZME Science and Chembites, among others. Skyler has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Caltech.
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