JWST discovers ancient complex organic molecules and distant smoke in space.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered evidence of complex organic molecules similar to smoke or smog in a distant galaxy more than 12 billion light-years away. These carbon-based molecules, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are found in oil and coal deposits on Earth, as well as in smog. The discovery was made with the help of a gravitational lens, and the presence of these molecules is not uniform across the galaxy, the reason for which remains to be explained.