US space agency NASA's James Webb Telescope has spotted frozen molecules which could go on to become "building blocks of life" in a molecular cloud.
NASA said that the Chamaeleon I cloud, which is 630 light-years from Earth, is so cold and dark that various molecules have frozen onto grains of dust.
Apart from water, molecules like carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane have been found in the molecular cloud, which is the birthplace of stars and planets. NASA said, "With its data, Webb demonstrates for the first time that molecules more complex than methanol (CH3OH) can form in the icy depths of molecular clouds before stars are born."
"Using Webb’s infrared abilities, researchers studied how starlight from beyond the molecular cloud was absorbed by the icy molecules within. This process left us with “chemical fingerprints,” or absorption lines, that could be compared with lab data to identify the molecules," the agency explained.
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