Recently in the Astrochemistry Category

It is thought that dicyanopolyynes could be potentially abundant interstellar molecules, although their lack of dipole moment makes it impossible to detect them through radioastronomical techniques.

The galaxy is rich in grease-like molecules, according to an Australian-Turkish team.

Each exoplanet revolves around a star, like the Earth around the Sun. This is why it is generally impossible to obtain images of an exoplanet, so dazzling is the light of its star.

In a laboratory experiment that mimics astrophysical conditions, with cryogenic temperatures in an ultrahigh vacuum, scientists used an electron gun to irradiate thin sheets of ice covered in basic molecules of methane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide.

The organic content of protoplanetary disks sets the initial compositions of planets and comets, thereby influencing subsequent chemistry that is possible in nascent planetary systems.

Scientists have used lab experiments to retrace the chemical steps leading to the creation of complex hydrocarbons in space, showing pathways to forming 2-D carbon-based nanostructures in a mix of heated gases.

Formation of organic aerosols driven by photochemical reactions has been observed and suggested in CH4-containing atmospheres, including Titan and early Earth.

A Leicester mathematician has developed a theory to explain 'heating by cooling', where the temperature of a granular gas increases while the total energy drops down - a peculiar phenomenon which can be observed both on Earth and in space.

We predict how the C, N, and O abundances within the interstellar medium of galaxies evolve as functions of the galaxy star formation history (SFH).

This work presents theoretical studies which combine aspects of combustion and explosion theory with exoplanetary atmospheric science.