NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a key carbon molecule in space for the first time: methyl cation (pronounced cat-eye-on). The methyl cation, or CH3 +, molecule can promote chemical ...

The James Webb Space Telescope detects methyl cation (CH3+) in a young star system with a protoplanetary disk that is located in the Orion Nebula. Credit: Space.com | imagery courtesy: ESA/Webb ...