Orion Bar (NIRCam Image)

Located within the Orion Nebula, the Orion Bar is a diagonal, ridge-like feature of gas and dust sculpted by the intense radiation from nearby hot, young stars. While observing the Orion Bar, the James Webb Space Telescope made the first detection ever of a crucial carbon molecule called methyl cation in space. Carbon compounds are the foundation of life as we know it, and methyl cation (CH3+) plays an important role in forming more complex carbon-based molecules. Further study of this area could help reveal the origins of life. The Orion Nebula has been studied by astronomers for hundreds of year. It has been a frequent target of the Hubble Space Telescope, and now Webb is deepening our understanding of this region.