We present fundamental stellar parameters and chemical abundances for a sample of 86 evolved stars with planets and for a control sample of 137 stars without planets. The analysis was […]
Astrochemistry
Posted inAstrochemistry, Titan
NASA-led Study Sees Titan Glowing at Dusk and Dawn
New maps of Saturn’s moon Titan reveal large patches of trace gases shining brightly near the north and south poles. Image: High in the atmosphere of Titan, large patches of […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Titan
Ethyl Cyanide on Titan: Spectroscopic Detection and Mapping Using ALMA
We report the first spectroscopic detection of ethyl cyanide (C2H5CN) in Titan’s atmosphere, obtained using spectrally and spatially resolved observations of multiple emission lines with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter array […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Habitable Zones
The Ancient Heritage of Water Ice in the Solar System
Identifying the source of Earth’s water is central to understanding the origins of life-fostering environments and to assessing the prevalence of such environments in space. Water throughout the solar system […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
Detection of Iso-propyl Cyanide in Interstellar Space
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Cornell University, and the University of Cologne have for the first time detected a carbon-bearing molecule with a “branched” structure in […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
The Link Between Water Gas and Ice in Protostellar Envelopes
Our aim is to determine the critical parameters in water chemistry and the contribution of water to the oxygen budget by observing and modelling water gas and ice for a […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Status Report
The Origin of Complex Organic Molecules in Prestellar Cores
Complex organic molecules (COMs) have been detected in a variety of environments, including cold prestellar cores. Given the low temperature of these objects, these last detections challenge existing models. We […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
First Evidence for Water Ice Clouds Outside Our Solar System
A team of scientists led by Carnegie’s Jacqueline Faherty has discovered the first evidence of water ice clouds on an object outside of our own Solar System. Water ice clouds […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Reconstructing the Cosmic Evolution of the Chemical Elements
The chemical elements are created in nuclear fusion processes in the hot and dense cores of stars. The energy generated through nucleosynthesis allows stars to shine for billions of years. […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
Methane, Carbon Monoxide, and Ammonia in Brown Dwarfs and Self-Luminous Giant Planets
We address disequilibrum abundances of some simple molecules in the atmospheres of solar composition brown dwarfs and self-luminous extrasolar giant planets using a kinetics-based 1D atmospheric chemistry model. We employ […]