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Comment by dotancohen | Hacker News Reader

  > the agency also hinted at even more remarkable possibility in the
  > potential finding of a molecule called dimethyl sulfide (DMS), which
  > on Earth is only produced by life.

Are there any other instruments or telescopes that could further investigate this? Or is JWST the only telescope instrumented to detect such molecules 120 LY far away?

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It's not really "seeing" them but the absopbtion of light in certain wavelengths that shows what's present in the exoplanet's atmosphere. There's a whole new branch of sience looking for bio and techno signatures from exoplanets. Exciting times!

Does anybody know if this is the first time ever they detected DMS?

I can't see a molecule on my desk, even with a jeweller's microscope, nevermind seeing one 120 million light years away!

Science is amazing.

It is amazing, but JWST is not really seeing individual molecules. I believe they are analysing the spectral atmospheric emissions.

You're actually seeing tons of molecules on your desk. You just can't resolve them individually. Neither can the JWST.

So if we're not seeing individual molecules, why talk about molecules? Its fine to talk about desks or whatever we can actually see, right?

The JWST is essentially “seeing” them the same you see all the molecules in front of you in your desk: from the light they scatter or absorb.

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