This process leaves behind chemical fingerprints known as absorption spectra which can be compared with laboratory data to identify which ices are present in the molecular cloud. The ices were detected and measured by studying how starlight from beyond the molecular cloud was absorbed by icy molecules at specific infrared wavelengths visible to Webb. The content of ice in the molecular cloud was a decisive discovery "This way we can map the location of the molecules in the area both before and after they have been frozen out onto the dust grains and we can follow their path from the cold molecular cloud to the emerging planetary systems around young stars." "Using the combined data set gives us a unique insight into the complex interactions between gas, ice and dust in areas where stars and planets form" according to Jes Jørgensen, Professor at NBI. from ALMA, it is possible for us to directly observe the dust grains themselves, and it is also possible to see the same molecules as in the gas observed in the ice" Lars Kristensen, associate Professor at the Niels Bohr Institute (NBI), explains. "With the application of observations, e.g. Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, combined the discoveries from JWST with data from Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), making observations in other wavelengths than JWST and researchers from Aarhus University contributed with the necessary investigations in the laboratory. This means that the researchers could study many of the molecules going into the forming of new exoplanets. The dust grains grow in size when being a part of the discs of gas and dust forming around young stars.
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