Methyl halides—organic molecules formed by the combination of methyl groups (CH 3) with halogens—are mainly produced by marine microbial processes on Earth.

However, methyl halides on Hycean worlds offer a unique opportunity for detection with existing technology," said Michaela Leung, UCR planetary scientist and first author of the paper.

"Methyl halides are tricky compounds to study because they emanate from both natural and human sources, and our study addresses the current pressing question of how and why these methyl halides ...

Copper + soil + sunlight = methyl halides. The connection between copper and methyl halides was first revealed through a series of research projects conducted by UC Berkeley undergraduate researchers.

"Methyl halides are tricky compounds to study because they emanate from both natural and human sources, and our study addresses the current pressing question of how and why these methyl halides ...

Copper + soil + sunlight = methyl halides The connection between copper and methyl halides was first revealed through a series of research projects conducted by UC Berkeley undergraduate researchers.

Methyl halides—organic compounds in which a methyl group is bound to a halogen atom (typically chlorine, bromine or iodine)—play a pivotal role in atmospheric chemistry, most notably in ...

The new paper from the UC Riverside team posits Webb could detect one particular methyl halide, methyl chloride, on Hycean planets. The amount needed for detection is about 10 parts per million, ...

“One of the great benefits of looking for methyl halides is you could potentially find them in as few as 13 hours with James Webb,” said Michaela Leung, first author of the study.

Many of the natural sources of methyl halide gases haven’t been identified, says Kelly R. Redeker, an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Irvine and a coauthor of the study.

However, methyl halides on Hycean worlds offer a unique opportunity for detection with existing technology,” said Michaela Leung, UCR planetary scientist and first author of the paper. Additionally, ...