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Parallel Field to Protostar IRAS 23385 (MIRI Image)
This image was taken by MIRI (the Mid-Infrared Instrument) on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope of a region near the protostar known as IRAS 23385. The image is a single exposure at a wavelength of 15 microns which has been assigned an orange color.
IRAS 23385 and IRAS 2A (not visible in this image) were targets for a recent research effort by an international team of astronomers that used Webb to discover that the key ingredients for making potentially habitable worlds are present in early-stage protostars, where planets have not yet formed.
With MIRI’s unprecedented spectral resolution and sensitivity, the JOYS+ (James Webb Observations of Young ProtoStars) program individually identified organic molecules that have been confirmed to be present in interstellar ices. This includes the detection of acetaldehyde, ethanol, methyl formate, and likely acetic acid, in the solid phase.
- Release DateMarch 13, 2024
- Science ReleaseCheers! NASA’s Webb Finds Ethanol, Other Icy Ingredients for Worlds
- CreditImage: NASA, ESA, CSA, W.R.M. Rocha (LEI)
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Complex Organic Molecules of NGC 1333 IRAS 2A Protostar (MIRI)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope's MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) has identified a wealth of complex, carbon-containing (organic) molecules surrounding two protostars. This graphic shows the spectrum of one of the two protostars, IRAS 2A. It includes the fingerprints of...
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Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA, ESA, CSA, W.R.M. Rocha (LEI)
