Life's Building Blocks Found in Milky Way's Perseus Cloud

Astronomers have discovered prebiotic molecules, considered the essential building blocks for life, in a star cluster within the Perseus Molecular Cloud called IC348. The cloud is one of the closest active star-forming regions to the solar system at just 1,000 light-years away. The detection of prebiotic molecules at such a site and so close to the star cluster IC348 could indicate that as young planets form, they accrete material that contains molecules that eventually contribute to the formation of complex organic molecules. The discovery was made using data collected by NASA's now retired Spitzer Space Telescope and will be followed up with the more powerful James Webb Space Telescope.