from
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/27/world/webb-europa-carbon-detection-scn/index.html

Webb spots a building block of life on Jupiter’s moon Europa
By Ashley Strickland, CNN
Published 5:00 PM EDT, Wed September 27, 2023

This side-by-side comparison shows observations of the Southern Ring
Nebula in near-infrared light, left, and mid-infrared light, right, from
NASA's Webb telescope. The Southern Ring Nebula is 2,000 light-years
away from Earth. This large planetary nebula includes an expanding cloud
of gas around a dying star, as well as a secondary star earlier on in
its evolution.
President Joe Biden <a
href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/11/world/james-webb-space-telescope-first-image-scn/index.html"
target="_blank">released one of Webb's first images</a> on July 11, and
it's "the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to
date," according to NASA. The image shows SMACS 0723, where a massive
group of galaxy clusters act as a magnifying glass for the objects
behind them. Called gravitational lensing, this created Webb's first
deep field view of incredibly old and distant, faint galaxies.
This image shows the Ring Nebula in exceptional detail, like the
filament elements in the ring's inner section.
This image shows the Ring Nebula in exceptional detail, like the
filament elements in the ring's inner section.
ESA/Webb/NASA/CSA
Earendel, the most distant star ever discovered, can be seen in this
image of the Sunrise Arc galaxy.
The Ring Nebula is seen in breathtaking detail, in a composite image
released on August 4.
The James Webb Space Telescope captured a high-resolution image of a
pair of actively forming stars called Herbig-Haro 46/47. The stellar
duo, only a few thousand years old, is located at the center of the red
diffraction spikes.
The James Webb Space Telescope captured a detailed closeup of the birth
of sunlike stars in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud, the closest star-forming
region located 390 light-years from Earth. The young stars release jets
that cause the surrounding gas to glow. The image's release marks the
first anniversary of Webb's observations of the cosmos.
Saturn and its moons were captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope
June 25. The image shows details of the planet's atmosphere and ring
system.
The James Webb Space Telescope captured the Orion Bar, a part of the
Orion Nebula that is being eroded by stellar radiation emanating from
the Trapezium Cluster.
This composite image, shot from the James Webb Space Telescope's MIRI
and NIRCam instruments, shows the bright clusters of stars and dust from
barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068.
Webb captured a burst of star formation triggered by two colliding
spiral galaxies called Arp 220. The phenomenon is the closest
ultra-luminous galactic merger to Earth.
Dusty rings surround Fomalhaut, a young star outside of our solar system
that's 25 light-years from Earth.
The Wolf-Rayet star WR 124 was one of the James Webb Space Telescope's
first discoveries, spotted in June 2022.
Stunning details can be seen in this Webb telescope photo of supernova
remnant Cassiopeia A, which is 11,000 light-years from Earth.
Webb's image of ice giant Uranus shows off the planet's incredible rings
and a bright haze covering its north polar cap (right). A bright cloud
lies at the cap's edge and a second one is seen at left.
The James Webb Space Telescope captured 50,000 sources of near-infrared
light in a new image of Pandora's Cluster, a megacluster of galaxies.
The cluster acts like a magnifying glass, allowing astronomers to see
more distant galaxies behind it.
Stars shine through the hazy material of the Chamaeleon I dark molecular
cloud, which is 630 light-years away from Earth.
The James Webb Space Telescope spotted NGC 346, one of the most dynamic
star-forming regions near the Milky Way, located in a dwarf galaxy
called the Small Magellanic Cloud.
Two galaxies, known as II ZW96, form a swirl shape while merging in the
constellation Delphinus.
The James Webb Space Telescope revealed features of a new protostar forming.
The James Webb Space Telescope captured a new perspective of the Pillars
of Creation in mid-infrared light. The dust of this star-forming region,
rather than the stars themselves, is the highlight, and resembles
ghostly figures.
Webb captured a highly detailed snapshot of the so-called <a
href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/19/world/webb-telescope-pillars-of-creation-scn/index.html"
target="_blank">Pillars of Creation,</a> a vista of three looming towers
made of interstellar dust and gas that's speckled with newly formed
stars. The area, which lies within the Eagle Nebula about 6,500
light-years from Earth, had previously been captured by the Hubble
Telescope in 1995, creating an image deemed "iconic" by space observers.
The two stars in WR140 produce shells of dust every eight years that
look like rings, as captured by the Webb telescope.
The James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope contributed to
this image of galactic pair VV 191. Webb observed the brighter
elliptical galaxy (left) and spiral galaxy (right) in near-infrared
light, and Hubble collected data in visible and ultraviolet light.
The James Webb Space Telescope captured spiral galaxy IC 5332, which is
over 29 million light-years away. The observatory's MIRI instrument<a
href="http://www.cnn.com/2022/09/27/world/spiral-galaxy-james-webb-new-images-scn/index.html"
target="_blank"> peered through interstellar dust to see the galaxy's
"bones."</a>
Webb captured the clearest view of the Neptune's rings in over 30 years.
The inner region of the <a
href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/12/world/james-webb-space-telescope-image-orion-nebula-scn/index.html"
target="_blank">Orion Nebula</a> as seen by the telescope's NIRCam
instrument. The image reveals intricate details about how stars and
planetary systems are formed.
NASA released a mosaic image of the <a
href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/06/world/webb-telescope-tarantula-nebula-stars-image-scn/index.html"
target="_blank">Tarantula Nebula</a> on Tuesday, September 6. The image,
which spans 340 light-years, shows tens of thousands of young stars that
were previously obscured by cosmic dust.
A new image of the Phantom Galaxy, which is 32 million light-years away
from Earth, combines data from the James Webb Space Telescope and the
Hubble Space Telescope.
NASA <a
href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/22/world/jupiter-images-webb-telescope-nasa-scn/index.html"
target="_blank">released an image</a> of Jupiter on Monday, August 22,
that shows the planet's famous Great Red Spot appearing white.
The James Webb Space Telescope <a
href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/02/world/webb-telescope-cartwheel-galaxy-image-scn/index.html"
target="_blank">captured the Cartwheel galaxy,</a> which is around 500
million light-years away, in a photo released by NASA on August 2.
Webb's landscape-like view, called "Cosmic Cliffs," is actually the edge
of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina
Nebula. The telescope's infrared view reveals previously invisible areas
of star birth.
The five galaxies of Stephan's Quintet can be seen here in a new light.
The galaxies appear to dance with one another, showcasing how these
interactions can drive galactic evolution.
This side-by-side comparison shows observations of the Southern Ring
Nebula in near-infrared light, left, and mid-infrared light, right, from
NASA's Webb telescope. The Southern Ring Nebula is 2,000 light-years
away from Earth. This large planetary nebula includes an expanding cloud
of gas around a dying star, as well as a secondary star earlier on in
its evolution.
President Joe Biden <a
href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/11/world/james-webb-space-telescope-first-image-scn/index.html"
target="_blank">released one of Webb's first images</a> on July 11, and
it's "the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to
date," according to NASA. The image shows SMACS 0723, where a massive
group of galaxy clusters act as a magnifying glass for the objects
behind them. Called gravitational lensing, this created Webb's first
deep field view of incredibly old and distant, faint galaxies.
This image shows the Ring Nebula in exceptional detail, like the
filament elements in the ring's inner section.
Earendel, the most distant star ever discovered, can be seen in this
image of the Sunrise Arc galaxy.
Observing the universe with the James Webb Space Telescope
1 of 33
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—
A building block of life may exist inside the global ocean on Europa,
one of Jupiter’s icy moons.

"a425couple" wrote in message news:ONhRM.78301$3vM.37025@fx37.iad...

Webb spots a building block of life on Jupiter’s moon Europa

-----------------------------------

Organic compounds were thought to be fundamentally different from man-made
ones until this experiment in 1828:
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(12)60740-X/pdf

"Before this experiment, most investigators believed that a "life force"
motivated or influenced all substances found in
plants and animals. They therefore contended that any substance produced by
a life process could not be made
from inorganic chemicals."

The classification "organic" stuck although it now means both natural and
synthetic carbon compounds.

In 1952 this experiment showed that electricity could create the building
blocks of proteins from cosmically abundant simple gases:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller%E2%80%93Urey_experiment

"Most of the natural amino acids, hydroxyacids, purines, pyrimidines, and
sugars have been made in variants of the Miller experiment."

Electricity separates molecules into smaller reactive parts (radicals) that
recombine with whatever they randomly encounter. Like seeing shapes in
clouds almost anything is possible, chemical thermodynamics is a study of
the probability.

Detecting organic molecules in the absorption spectra of celestial objects
is very far from an indication of life. It seems the media isn't yet up to
date on what chemists learned almost 200 years ago.

"a425couple" wrote in message news:ONhRM.78301$3vM.37025@fx37.iad...

Webb spots a building block of life on Jupiter’s moon Europa

-----------------------------------

Organic compounds were thought to be fundamentally different from man-made
ones until this experiment in 1828:
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(12)60740-X/pdf

"Before this experiment, most investigators believed that a "life force"
motivated or influenced all substances found in
plants and animals. They therefore contended that any substance produced by
a life process could not be made
from inorganic chemicals."

The classification "organic" stuck although it now means both natural and
synthetic carbon compounds.

In 1952 this experiment showed that electricity could create the building
blocks of proteins from cosmically abundant simple gases:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller%E2%80%93Urey_experiment

"Most of the natural amino acids, hydroxyacids, purines, pyrimidines, and
sugars have been made in variants of the Miller experiment."

Electricity separates molecules into smaller reactive parts (radicals) that
recombine with whatever they randomly encounter. Like seeing shapes in
clouds almost anything is possible, chemical thermodynamics is a study of
the probability.

Detecting organic molecules in the absorption spectra of celestial objects
is very far from an indication of life. It seems the media isn't yet up to
date on what chemists learned almost 200 years ago.