HomeSpace NewsStrange molecules swirl around supermassive black holes, JWST finds

Strange molecules swirl around supermassive black holes, JWST finds

NASA’s iconic new observatory has spotted surprising compounds around supermassive black holes.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has detected carbon-bearing molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the centers of three active galaxies, where scientists had expected these molecules couldn’t survive. Intriguingly, the observations also suggest that the radiation in the vicinity of the supermassive black holes in these galaxies has altered the overall properties of the PAHs, which could complicate a key technique astronomers use to evaluate star formation, and could also affect their usefulness as biological building blocks.

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