James Webb Telescope Uncovers Dry Ice in 'Butterfly Nebula': First-Ever Discovery

• An international team used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to detect dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) for the first time in a planetary nebula, NGC 6302, also known as the 'Butterfly Nebula'.
• This discovery is significant because dry ice is typically found in cold, quiet regions, not in the hot, radiation-filled environment of a planetary nebula, posing a puzzle for scientists.
• The Butterfly Nebula, located 3,400 light-years away in Scorpius, previously showed complex organic molecules, indicating active chemical reactions within it.
• JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) detected gaseous CO2 and subsequently found two solid signatures of dry ice, even more delicate than water ice.
• The finding suggests that ice formation around old, dying stars might differ from that in regions where new stars are born, enhancing our understanding of complex chemical formation in space.