Cospatial ice mapping of H2O with CO2 and CO across a molecular cloud with JWST/NIRCam
Abstract In the coldest regions of molecular clouds, carbon and oxygen are incorporated into icy dust grains. Despite its outsized role in star and planet formation, sequential formation of ice is poorly constrained. Infrared spectroscopy probes ice chemistry, but previous telescopes observed insufficient lines of sight to map a single cloud. Here we present cospatial maps of H 2 O, CO 2 and CO ice over the central region of the Chamaeleon I molecular cloud, using 44 lines of sight observed with the James Webb Space Telescope. Correlations at column densities ten times larger than previous work suggest additional CO 2 ice formation in CO ice for the densest lines of sight. This large statistical sampling within a single cloud represents a step change in ice mapping, eliminating averaging over clouds with different intrinsic chemical environments. Mapping opens the door to probing gas–grain exchanges, snow lines and chemical evolution in the densest regions and drawing conclusions on the impact of ice chemistry on wider astrophysics.
Authors
- Riccardo Giovanni Urso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6926-1434)
- H. J. Fraser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0972-1595)
- Karin I. Öberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8798-1347)
- Gary J. Melnick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6025-0680)
- E. Dartois (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1197-7143)
- Z. L. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1352-3850)
- Fengwu Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4622-6617)
- A. C. A. Boogert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9344-0096)
- D. Harsono (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6307-4195)
- M. N. Drozdovskaya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7479-4948)
- S. Ioppolo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2271-1781)
- Takashi Shimonishi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0095-3624)
- Steven B. Charnley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6752-5109)
- Jennifer B. Bergner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8716-0482)
- E. F. van Dishoeck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7591-1907)
- J. A. Sturm (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0377-1316)
- H. J. Dickinson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0475-008X)
- M. K. McClure (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1878-327X)
- K. M. Pontoppidan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7552-1562)
- Jessica Erkal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8476-1389)
- Giulia Perotti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8545-6175)
- W. R. M. Rocha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6144-4113)
- Y. J. Pendleton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8102-2903)
- Izaskun Jiménez-Serra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4493-8714)
- R. T. Garrod (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7723-8955)
- Jennifer A. Noble (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4985-8254)
- A. Taillard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9236-7978)
- M. E. Palumbo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9122-491X)
- P. Caselli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1481-7911)
- D. Qasim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3276-4780)
- Jes Kristian Jørgensen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9133-8047)
- E. Schunová (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1437-4463)
- E. Egami
- T. L. Beck
Institutions
- University of Central Florida (US)
- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US)
- Leiden University (NL)
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Southwest Research Institute (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Space Telescope Science Institute (US)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US)
- University of Arizona (US)
- The Open University (GB)
- Aarhus University (DK)
- Aix-Marseille Université (FR)
- National Tsing Hua University (TW)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- Niigata Institute of Technology (JP)
- Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (DE)
- Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (DE)
- Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d'Orsay (FR)
- Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania (IT)
- Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos (CH)
- Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US)
- Centro de Astrobiología (ES)
- Physique des interactions ioniques et moléculaires (FR)
- Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (US)
- University of Virginia (US)
- Niigata University (JP)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Astronomy
- Published
- 2025-03-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02511-z
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Spectroscopy and Laser Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.78
Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- California Institute of Technology
- Open University
- Space Telescope Science Institute
- European Commission
- National Research Foundation
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
- Danmarks Grundforskningsfond
- Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Holcim Stiftung zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Fortbildung
- National Science and Technology Council
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Goddard Space Flight Center
- Science and Technology Facilities Council
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- European Regional Development Fund
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación
- Planetary Science Division