Astronomers working with the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered common chemical elements around two young stars found in vinegar, ant stings and even margaritas, NASA reports, CNN and News.ro reported.

Complex organic molecules observed with the mid-infrared instrument included acetic acid, a component of vinegar, and ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol.

The team also discovered simple molecules of formic acid, which causes the burning sensation associated with ant bites, as well as sulfur dioxide, methane and formaldehyde. Scientists believe that some sulfur compounds, such as sulfur dioxide, may have played a key role in the early Earth, eventually paving the way for life to form.

The newly discovered molecules were found to be composed of ice around IRAS 2A and IRAS 23385, which are two protostars, that is, stars so young that they have not yet formed planets. Stars form from swirling clouds of gas and dust, and the material left over from star formation gives rise to planets.

According to previous studies, the protostar IRAS 23385 is estimated to be 15,981 light-years from Earth in the Milky Way.

The new discovery will intrigue astronomers because molecules found around stars could be key ingredients for potentially habitable worlds, and those ingredients could be incorporated into planets that are likely to form around stars over time.

Space is full of heavy metals, elements, and chemical compounds that have formed over time and been released as a result of exploding stars. In turn, chemical elements are included in the clouds that form the next generation of stars and planets.

On Earth, the right combination of elements made it possible to form life, and as the famous astronomer Carl Sagan once said: “We are made of star matter.” But astronomers have long wondered how common the elements necessary for life in space are.

Searching for complex molecules in space

Earlier, scientists with the help of James Webb discovered types of ice composed of different elements in the cold dark molecular cloud, an interstellar group of gas and dust where hydrogen and carbon monoxide molecules can form. The dense mass in these clouds can collapse to form protostars.

Detecting complex organic molecules in space helps astronomers determine the origin of the molecules, as well as other larger cosmic molecules.

Scientists believe that complex organic molecules are formed by the sublimation of ice in space, or the process by which a solid turns into a gas without first becoming a liquid, and Webb’s new discovery provides evidence to support that theory.

“This discovery contributes to solving one of the long-standing questions in astrochemistry,” said Will Rocha, group leader of the James Webb Young ProtoStars Observation Program and a postdoctoral fellow at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

“What is the origin of complex organic molecules, or COMs, in space? Are they formed in the gas phase or in ice? The detection of COM in ice suggests that solid-phase chemical reactions on the surface of cold dust particles can create complex types of molecules.”

The study, which details the new discoveries of protostars, has been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

A look at the early solar system

Understanding the shape that complex organic molecules take can help astronomers better understand how the molecules eventually build into planets. Complex organic molecules trapped by cold ice may eventually become part of comets or asteroids that collide with planets and essentially deliver the ingredients that can support life.

Chemicals found around protostars can reflect the early history of our solar system, allowing astronomers to look back at what was present when the Sun and the planets orbiting it, including Earth, formed.

“All of these molecules can become part of comets and asteroids and eventually new planetary systems when frozen material is transported into the planet-forming disk during the evolution of the protostellar system,” said study co-author Ewain van Dyschock, professor of molecular astrophysics at Leiden University.

“We look forward to following this astrochemical trail step by step with more data from Webb in the coming years.”

The team dedicated their study to co-author Harold Linnartz, who died unexpectedly in December shortly after the paper was accepted for publication.

Linnarz, who headed the Leiden Laboratory for Astrophysics and coordinated the measurements used in the study, was “a world leader in laboratory studies of gaseous and frozen molecules in interstellar space,” according to a statement from Leiden University.