Using the James Webb Telescope (JWST), scientists have detected water ice and more complex matter in the Chameleon I molecular cloud, about 630 light-years from Earth. The researchers estimate that these finds have the lowest temperature ever found in such a cloud.

Molecular clouds are large formations consisting of dust. They are also called stellar cradles, because they contain the substances necessary for the formation of stars. Among the many molecules found in the Chameleon I cloud, scientists noted water, methane, ammonia, and complex substances like methanol - the researchers also announced the presence of more complex compounds, but they have not yet been identified. Last year, scientists discovered a molecular cloud near the center of our galaxy that even contained the building blocks of RNA, a molecule found in all living cells.

Dark and cold molecular clouds are imaged by using the light from stars behind them to be absorbed by molecules, helping scientists to identify the substances present by dips in certain parts of the visible spectrum. The cloud studied by the researchers is one of several included in the Chameleon Complex, which occupies almost the entire constellation of the same name and partially extends to several neighboring ones. The exceptional capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope helped to detect water ice here - information about other substances present here will tell scientists about the conditions for the formation of ice deposits and the formation of larger structures, such as planets and their atmospheres.

Leading the research team, Melissa McClure from the Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands, said the data they obtained is only the first set in a series of spectral images, and scientists will provide more details about the composition of traditionally enigmatic molecular clouds in the near future.