Astrochemistry Archives

Evolutions of fiducial planetesimals with different chondritic compositions. Each plot is the contour of one quantity across time and radial location. Note that the total radius decreases due to sintering. From top row to bottom: EH, OC, CV, and CI bodies. Physical quantities from left to right: (i) temperature, (ii) condensed + gaseous C abundance normalized to the initial reservoir; > 1 relative abundance occurs due to sintering concentrating C, (iii) porosity and (iv) gas pressure; hatched areas are completely sintered with no meaningful gas pressure. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report

Modeling Carbon Outgassing From Chondritic Planetesimals

by Keith CowingJune 1, 2026June 1, 2026

The thermochemical evolution of planetesimals is an underprobed stage of volatile delivery to terrestrial planets during their formation, and may contribute to the volatile depletion of the Earth relative to […]

This plot shows currently known exoplanets, with different categories highlighted. Roman will help fill in the bottom-right of the plot by finding small worlds in large orbits. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Ice Giant, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

NASA’s Roman Mission Preps to Unveil New Populations of Faraway Worlds

by Keith CowingMay 29, 2026May 29, 2026

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is poised to make a major leap in the hunt for worlds outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. Scientists expect the mission to […]

Adsorption of crystals of a biological chiral molecule onto a gold-coated cobalt surface. Larger crystals of one specific form of the molecule (left) tend to accumulate on this surface to a greater degree than those of its mirror-image form (right). In the left image, the crystals reach heights of about 1.2 nm, whereas in the right image they do not exceed 0.8 nm. The physical advantage of one form over the other in accumulating on the magnetic surface suggests that, in a competitive setting, it would become the dominant (“winning”) form. -- Weizmann Institute of Science

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

A Glimpse At The Origins Of Life Through A Deceptive Mirror

by Keith CowingMay 29, 2026May 29, 2026

Imagine looking at yourself in the mirror, only to find that your reflection is governed by different laws than you are: Identical movements produce different outcomes, and what seems like […]

Simulation of a planet embedded in a protoplanetary disc, causing disc material to pile up in a ring exterior to its orbit – Credit: Amena Faruqi / University of Warwick Credit Amena Faruqi / University of Warwick

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Stellar Cartography

Weighing Newborn Planets Using Their Dusty Fingerprints

by Keith CowingMay 29, 2026May 29, 2026

A team of astronomers, led by University of Warwick in collaboration with researchers at MIT and McMaster, have developed a novel method to use the properties of dust rings around […]

Different faces of the dying star W Hydrae seen in different molecular lines with ALMA. Shown here are 30 faces out of 57 images in total. Credit: K. Ohnaka – N. Lira – ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) Larger imagery

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release, Stellar Cartography

Astrochemistry: ALMA Reveals 57 Faces Of A Dying Star

by Keith CowingMay 29, 2026May 29, 2026

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have obtained detailed radio images of a dying star’s atmosphere, revealing a remarkably complex and dynamic environment rich in chemical diversity.

Cartoon illustration (not up to scale) of molecular distribution of detected N-bearing molecules towards NIRS3 based on estimated source sizes and temperatures. The direction of CO (J = 3–2) outflow is obtained from Zinchenko et al. (2020). -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Digging Into The Massive Protostar S255IR NIRS3: A Study of Nitrogen-Bearing Molecules and Their Prebiotic Chemistry

by Keith CowingMay 28, 2026May 28, 2026

The study of complex nitrogen (N)-bearing molecules is essential for probing the physical and chemical evolution of star-forming regions.

Examples of materials with extremely high porosities (ϕ > 80%). a) Heesch & Laves (1933) 94.45% rigid packing structure. b) and c) pictures from Blum & Schr¨apler (2004) experiments of SiO2 agglomerates with 85% porosity. d) Water ice aggregates with 89% porosity observed with a long-distance microscope (Gundlach et al. 2011). Bottom Row: experimental pictures from the Core-Mantle Particle Sedimentation System e) Cryogenically cooled chamber with 15 mm high needles that serve as sample mounts for ice aggregates. f) Micrometer-sized water ice spheres as seen from the scanning electron microscope. g) Fractal ice aggregates as seen from the long distance microscope. Each individual grain has been highlighted in yellow on the right side of the picture. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

The Physical Nature of Regolith on Icy Moons

by Keith CowingMay 28, 2026May 28, 2026

Estimating surface properties such as porosity and grain sizes is key for planning lander missions and landing site selection on icy moons.

Left: GO 2433’s F770W map of NGC 891, with the H2 S (1) maps for the four MRS pointings in our study, in colour. The contours in the background and inset images are F770W surface brightnesses. The white cross marks the centre of the galaxy. Right: Total intensity maps for a few key dust features in all observations. The maps are obtained by fitting a 1D model to each pixel independently, and summing the intensities of all sub-features belonging to the same complex. Because the 11.2 µm feature dominates the emission, each map is shown with its own scaling; we focus on the variations within each maps rather than the absolute intensity values. Non-fit pixels, skipped by PAHFIT, are shown in white. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Survival Of Very Small Carbonaceous Dust Grains In The Inner-CGM Of NGC 891 From JWST/MIRI MRS

by Keith CowingMay 28, 2026May 28, 2026

We present new spectroscopic observations of the inner circumgalactic medium (CGM) of NGC 891 taken with the Mid-Infrared Imager/Medium Resolution Spectroscopy instrument onboard JWST, in four positions: two near the […]

SFR as a function of stellar mass for equilibrium (left) and non-equilibrium (right) galaxies. The solid red line indicates the SFMS from Renzini & Peng (2015), with dashed lines showing the adopted scatter. Colour maps indicate the number of galaxies per bin in each panel; note that the colour scales differ between the equilibrium and non-equilibrium panels, reflecting the different sample sizes. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Habitable Zones, Status Report

The Habitability Trade-off: Chemical Decoupling And Quenching In Massive Galaxies

by Keith CowingMay 26, 2026May 26, 2026

Massive galaxies experience complex evolutionary processes, including mergers and gas accretion, which can disrupt the chemical equilibrium between their stellar and gaseous components.

Spectral characterization of Chiron’s surface composition. a Comparison of the bestfit spectral model of the surface composition (red) with the measured spectrum (black). The surface is best described by an intimate mixture of water ice in both amorphous and crystalline phases, carbon dioxide ice, and tholin-like materials. b Residuals between the model and the data show an excellent fit, with a root mean square deviation that is just 1% higher than the average scatter in the data. c Zoomed-in view of the complex organic absorption feature spanning 3.3–3.6 µm, with the individual component bands indicated by dashed lines. Comparison between the measured spectrum and synthetic spectra of several candidate species, convolved to the spectral resolution of the data, points to C3H8 and/or ice tholins produced by the irradiation of H2O ice and C2H6 as the most plausible candidates for the observed organic feature. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

JWST Reveals Anomalously Enhanced Methane Outgassing From Below Chiron’s Water Ice And Carbon Dioxide Bearing Surface

by Keith CowingMay 26, 2026May 26, 2026

Centaurs are inward-scattered Kuiper belt objects, with some exhibiting comet-like activity. The physical mechanisms powering this activity remain poorly understood, with carbon monoxide (CO) sublimation or the crystallization of amorphous […]

Astrochemistry

Modeling Carbon Outgassing From Chondritic Planetesimals

NASA’s Roman Mission Preps to Unveil New Populations of Faraway Worlds

A Glimpse At The Origins Of Life Through A Deceptive Mirror

Weighing Newborn Planets Using Their Dusty Fingerprints

Astrochemistry: ALMA Reveals 57 Faces Of A Dying Star

Digging Into The Massive Protostar S255IR NIRS3: A Study of Nitrogen-Bearing Molecules and Their Prebiotic Chemistry

The Physical Nature of Regolith on Icy Moons

Survival Of Very Small Carbonaceous Dust Grains In The Inner-CGM Of NGC 891 From JWST/MIRI MRS

The Habitability Trade-off: Chemical Decoupling And Quenching In Massive Galaxies

JWST Reveals Anomalously Enhanced Methane Outgassing From Below Chiron’s Water Ice And Carbon Dioxide Bearing Surface

PJ Harvey Announces New Song “Voyager”

Fifty Years after Viking: The Promise of Solar System Microbiology and Microbial Ecology

Characterising Transiting Exoplanets At Long Orbital Period: Lessons Learned For PLATO From 10 Years Of Monitoring The HIP41378 System

Implications Of Self-consistent H2O Ice Optical Constants On Radiative Transfer Models Of Disks

The GAPS Programme at TNG LXXIV. A Reanalysis Of The Planetary Systems TOI-1272 And TOI-1694 With HARPS-N And Retraction Of The Planetary Interpretation Of TOI-1272 c