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By NASA
Hydrocarbon lake and methane rain clouds on Titan Jenny McElligott/eMITS NASA research has shown that cell-like compartments called vesicles could form naturally in the lakes of Saturn’s moon Titan.
Titan is the only world apart from Earth that is known to have liquid on its surface. However, Titan’s lakes and seas are not filled with water. Instead, they contain liquid hydrocarbons like ethane and methane.
On Earth, liquid water is thought to have been essential for the origin of life as we know it. Many astrobiologists have wondered whether Titan’s liquids could also provide an environment for the formation of the molecules required for life – either as we know it or perhaps as we don’t know it – to take hold there.
New NASA research, published in the International Journal of Astrobiology, outlines a process by which stable vesicles might form on Titan, based on our current knowledge of the moon’s atmosphere and chemistry. The formation of such compartments is an important step in making the precursors of living cells (or protocells).
The process involves molecules called amphiphiles, which can self-organize into vesicles under the right conditions. On Earth, these polar molecules have two parts, a hydrophobic (water-fearing) end and a hydrophilic (water-loving) end. When they are in water, groups of these molecules can bunch together and form ball-like spheres, like soap bubbles, where the hydrophilic part of the molecule faces outward to interact with the water, thereby ‘protecting’ the hydrophobic part on the inside of the sphere. Under the right conditions, two layers can form creating a cell-like ball with a bilayer membrane that encapsulates a pocket of water on the inside.
When considering vesicle formation on Titan, however, the researchers had to take into account an environment vastly different from the early Earth.
Uncovering Conditions on Titan
Huygens captured this aerial view of Titan from an altitude of 33,000 feet. ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona Titan is Saturn’s largest moon and the second largest in our solar system. Titan is also the only moon in our solar system with a substantial atmosphere.
The hazy, golden atmosphere of Titan kept the moon shrouded in mystery for much of human history. However, when NASA’s Cassini spacecraft arrived at Saturn in 2004, our views of Titan changed forever.
Thanks to Cassini, we now know Titan has a complex meteorological cycle that actively influences the surface today. Most of Titan’s atmosphere is nitrogen, but there is also a significant amount of methane (CH4). This methane forms clouds and rain, which falls to the surface to cause erosion and river channels, filling up the lakes and seas. This liquid then evaporates in sunlight to form clouds once again.
This atmospheric activity also allows for complex chemistry to happen. Energy from the Sun breaks apart molecules like methane, and the pieces then reform into complex organic molecules. Many astrobiologists believe that this chemistry could teach us how the molecules necessary for the origin of life formed and evolved on the early Earth.
Building Vesicles on Titan
The new study considered how vesicles might form in the freezing conditions of Titan’s hydrocarbon lakes and seas by focusing on sea-spray droplets, thrown upwards by splashing raindrops. On Titan, both spray droplets and the sea surface could be coated in layers of amphiphiles. If a droplet then lands on the surface of a pond, the two layers of amphiphiles meet to form a double-layered (or bilayer) vesicle, enclosing the original droplet. Over time, many of these vesicles would be dispersed throughout the pond and would interact and compete in an evolutionary process that could lead to primitive protocells.
If the proposed pathway is happening, it would increase our understanding of the conditions in which life might be able to form.
“The existence of any vesicles on Titan would demonstrate an increase in order and complexity, which are conditions necessary for the origin of life,” explains Conor Nixon of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “We’re excited about these new ideas because they can open up new directions in Titan research and may change how we search for life on Titan in the future.”
NASA’s first mission to Titan is the upcoming Dragonfly rotorcraft, which will explore the surface of the Saturnian moon. While Titan’s lakes and seas are not a destination for Dragonfly (and the mission won’t carry the light-scattering instrument required to detect such vesicles), the mission will fly from location to location to study the moon’s surface composition, make atmospheric and geophysical measurements, and characterize the habitability of Titan’s environment.
News Media Contacts
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
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By NASA
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Alex Parker This image, taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft on July 14, 2015, is the most accurate natural color image of Pluto. This natural-color image results from refined calibration of data gathered by New Horizons’ color Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC). The processing creates images that would approximate the colors that the human eye would perceive, bringing them closer to “true color” than the images released near the encounter. This single color MVIC scan includes no data from other New Horizons imagers or instruments added. The striking features on Pluto are clearly visible, including the bright expanse of Pluto’s icy, nitrogen-and-methane rich “heart,” Sputnik Planitia.
Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Alex Parker
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By Amazing Space
Massive Solar Prominence "The Beast" Threatens Eruption? Space Weather Update July 14 2025 NASA SDO
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By NASA
Explore Webb Webb News Latest News Latest Images Webb’s Blog Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Observatory Overview Launch Deployment Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Webb’s First Images Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 8 Min Read NASA’s Webb Scratches Beyond Surface of Cat’s Paw for 3rd Anniversary
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared view of the Cat’s Paw Nebula reveals mini “toe beans.” Massive young stars are carving the gas and dust while their bright starlight is producing a bright nebulous glow. Eventually this turbulent region will quench star formation. Full image below. Credits:
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. It’s the cat’s meow! To celebrate its third year of revealing stunning scenes of the cosmos in infrared light, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has “clawed” back the thick, dusty layers of a section within the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334). Focusing Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on a single “toe bean” within this active star-forming region revealed a subset of mini toe beans, which appear to contain young stars shaping the surrounding gas and dust.
Webb’s look at this particular area of the Cat’s Paw Nebula just scratches the surface of the telescope’s three years of groundbreaking science.
“Three years into its mission, Webb continues to deliver on its design – revealing previously hidden aspects of the universe, from the star formation process to some of the earliest galaxies,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “As it repeatedly breaks its own records, Webb is also uncovering unknowns for new generations of flagship missions to tackle. Whether it’s following up on the mysteries of dark matter with NASA’s nearly complete Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, or narrowing our search for life to Earth-like planets with the Habitable Worlds Observatory, the questions Webb has raised are just as exciting as the answers it’s giving us.”
Image: Cat’s Paw Nebula (NIRCam Image)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared view of the Cat’s Paw Nebula reveals mini “toe beans.” Massive young stars are carving the gas and dust while their bright starlight is producing a bright nebulous glow. Eventually this turbulent region will quench star formation. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Star Formation Flex
The progression from a large molecular cloud to massive stars entails multiple steps, some of which are still not well understood by astronomers. Located approximately 4,000 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius, the Cat’s Paw Nebula offers scientists the opportunity to study the turbulent cloud-to-star process in great detail. Webb’s observation of the nebula in near-infrared light builds upon previous studies by NASA’s Hubble and retired Spitzer Space Telescope in visible- and infrared-light, respectively.
With its sharp resolution, Webb shows never-before-seen structural details and features: Massive young stars are carving away at nearby gas and dust, while their bright starlight is producing a bright nebulous glow represented in blue. It’s a temporary scene where the disruptive young stars, with their relatively short lives and luminosity, have a brief but important role in the region’s larger story. As a consequence of these massive stars’ lively behavior, the local star formation process will eventually come to a stop.
Opera House’s Intricate Structure
Start with the toe bean at top center, which is nicknamed the “Opera House” for its circular, tiered-like structure. The primary drivers for the area’s cloudy blue glow are most likely toward its bottom: either the light from the bright yellowish stars or from a nearby source still hidden behind the dense, dark brown dust.
Just below the orange-brown tiers of dust is a bright yellow star with diffraction spikes. While this massive star has carved away at its immediate surroundings, it has been unable to push the gas and dust away to greater distances, creating a compact shell of surrounding material.
Look closely to notice small patches, like the tuning fork-shaped area to the Opera House’s immediate left, that contain fewer stars. These seemingly vacant zones indicate the presence of dense foreground filaments of dust that are home to still-forming stars and block the light of stars in the background.
Spotlight on Stars
Toward the image’s center are small, fiery red clumps scattered amongst the brown dust. These glowing red sources mark regions where massive star formation is underway, albeit in an obscured manner.
Some massive blue-white stars, like the one in the lower left toe bean, seem to be more sharply resolved than others. This is because any intervening material between the star and the telescope has been dissipated by stellar radiation.
Near the bottom of that toe bean are small, dense filaments of dust. These tiny clumps of dust have managed to remain despite the intense radiation, suggesting that they are dense enough to form protostars. A small section of yellow at the right notes the location of a still-enshrouded massive star that has managed to shine through intervening material.
Across this entire scene are many small yellow stars with diffraction spikes. Bright blue-white stars are in the foreground of this Webb image, but some may be a part of the more expansive Cat’s Paw Nebula area.
One eye-catching aspect of this Webb image is the bright, red-orange oval at top right. Its low count of background stars implies it is a dense area just beginning its star-formation process. A couple of visible and still-veiled stars are scattered throughout this region, which are contributing to the illumination of the material in the middle. Some still-enveloped stars leave hints of their presence, like a bow shock at the bottom left, which indicates an energetic ejection of gas and dust from a bright source.
Further explore this subset of toe beans by embarking on a narrated tour or getting closer to the image. We also invite you to reminisce about Webb’s three years of science observations.
Video A (Narrated Visualization): Cosmic Caverns in the Cat’s Paw Nebula
This visualization explores a subset of toe bean-reminiscent structures within a section of the Cat’s Paw Nebula, a massive, local star-forming region located approximately 4,000 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. This image by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in near-infrared light was released in honor of the telescope’s third science operations anniversary. Since it began science operations in July 2022, Webb’s observations of our universe have wowed scientists and the public alike.
Glide into the lower left toe bean, moving past many small yellow stars along the way, where filaments of gas and dust frame the cavernous area. The region’s nebulous glow, represented in blue, is from the bright light of massive young stars.
Float toward the top toe bean, which is nicknamed the “Opera House” for its circular, tiered-like structure. As you move, you’ll pass plumes of orange-brown dust that vary in density and small, fiery red clumps where star formation is occurring, albeit in an obscured manner.
Credits: Producers: Greg Bacon (STScI), Frank Summers (STScI); Image Processing: Joe DePasquale (STScI); Music: Joe DePasquale (STScI); Designers: Ralf Crawford (STScI), Leah Hustak (STScI), Christian Nieves (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI); Images: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; ESO/VISTA.
Video B: Zoom into the Cat’s Paw Nebula
This zoom-in video shows the location of the Cat’s Paw Nebula on the sky. It begins with a ground-based photo by the late astrophotographer Akira Fujii, then shows views from the Digitized Sky Survey. The video then hones in on a select portion of the sky to reveal a European Southern Observatory image of the Cat’s Paw Nebula in visible light. The video continues to zoom in on a section of the Cat’s Paw, which gradually transitions to the stunning image captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in near-infrared light.
Credits: Video: NASA, ESA, CSA, Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI); Acknowledgement: Akira Fujii, DSS, VISTA. The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
To learn more about Webb, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/webb
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Media Contacts
Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Abigail Major – amajor@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
Hannah Braun – hbraun@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
Related Information
View other images of the Cat’s Paw Nebula
Animation Video: “How Dense Pillars Form in Molecular Clouds”
Explore a larger view of the Cat’s Paw Nebula: ViewSpace Video
Read more: Webb Star Formation Discoveries
More Webb News
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By NASA
The seven-member Expedition 73 crew poses for a portrait inside the International Space Station’s Zvezda service module.Credit: NASA Students in Big Pine Key, Florida, will have the chance to have NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station answer their prerecorded questions.
At 10:05 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 14, NASA astronaut Nicole Ayers and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi will answer questions submitted by students.
Watch the 20-minute Earth-to-space call on NASA STEM’s YouTube Channel.
The event is hosted by the Seacamp Association of Big Pine Key, Florida, which provides immersive science lessons for youth interested in discovering the sea. The event will be attended by local Monroe County students, as well as national and international campers ages 10-17 years old. The goal of the event is to help students make connections between astronauts training in space and scientists working in the sea.
Media interested in covering the event must RSVP by 5 p.m. EDT, Friday, July 11, to Judy Gregoire at: 305-872-2331 or email at: info@seacamp.org.
For nearly 25 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through SCaN’s (Space Communications and Navigation) Near Space Network.
Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the space station benefit people on Earth and lay the groundwork for other agency missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars; inspiring Golden Age explorers and ensuring the United States continues to lead in space exploration and discovery.
See videos of astronauts aboard the space station at:
https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
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Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
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Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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