The Earth’s atmosphere contains oxygen because plants continuously produce it through photosynthesis. This abundant supply of oxygen allows life forms like animals to flourish. Therefore, oxygen had been thought to […]
Astrochemistry
Posted inAstrochemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Chemical Signatures of Rocky Accretion in a Young Solar-type Star
It is well known that newly formed planetary systems undergo processes of orbital reconfiguration and planetary migration. As a result, planets or protoplanetary objects may accrete onto the central star, […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
Searching for Trans Ethyl Methyl Ether in Orion KL
We report on the tentative detection of trans Ethyl Methyl Ether (tEME), t−CH3CH2OCH3, through the identification of a large number of rotational lines from each one of the spin states […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Press Release
Organics Sniffed Out on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
While the Rosetta spacecraft orbits the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet, the Philae lander, deployed from Rosetta on November 2014, has gathered data on the surface of the comet that indicate the potential […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
Meteorite Impacts Can Create DNA Building Blocks
A new study shown that meteorite impacts on ancient oceans may have created nucleobases and amino acids. Researchers from Tohoku University, National Institute for Materials Science and Hiroshima University discovered […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
Reactivity and Survivability of Glycolaldehyde in Simulated Meteorite Impact Experiments
Sugars of extraterrestrial origin have been observed in the interstellar medium (ISM), in at least one comet spectrum, and in several carbonaceous chondritic meteorites that have been recovered from the […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Astrochemistry, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Space Kombucha in the Search for Life and Its Origin
You might know it as a drink for hipsters or as an ancient brew drunk for centuries in Eurasia, but the culture that ferments sugary tea into Kombucha is going […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
The Astrobiological Periodic Table
The Astrobiological Periodic Table has been developed by astrobiologist Charles Cockell. This is the preliminary first version. A second, more advanced version is in development. Larger version.
Posted inAstrochemistry
Dust and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon in the HD 34700 Debris Disk
The debris disk around the Vega-type star HD 34700 is detected in dust thermal emission from the near infrared (IR) to millimeter (mm) and submm wavelength range. Also detected is […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
Simulating the Synthesis of Amino Acids in Meteorite Parent Bodies
Carbonaceous chondrite meteorites are known for having high water and organic material contents, including amino acids. Here we address the origin of amino acids in the warm interiors of their […]