Astrochemistry Archives

Figure a) shows the final geometry of the cluster scenario, after all 10 CO2 molecules have been adsorbed, Figure b) shows the final geometry of the far scenario, after all 10 CO2 molecules have been adsorbed. Colour-coding: white, H atoms; grey, C atoms; red, O atoms. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Fizzy Water Ice In Space: CO2 Adsorption, Binding Energies And Its Fate In A Protoplanetary Disk

by Keith CowingMay 15, 2026May 15, 2026

Context: CO2 is the third most abundant ice component found on dust grains in star-forming regions and a common ingredient of exoplanet atmospheres. Characterization of its adsorption properties on ices […]

Molecular abundances as a function of the H2 column density. Each panel shows one molecule, with bars representing the derived abundances for the different cores and widths corresponding to half the uncertainty in N(H2). Hatched bars with a downward-facing triangle indicate upper limits (non-detections). Each panel also shows the Spearman rank correlation coefficient (ρ) and the corresponding p-value. -- astro-ph.GA

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

Tracing The Sulfur Depletion In Starless And Pre-stellar Cores

by Keith CowingMay 15, 2026May 15, 2026

Sulfur is one of the most abundant elements in the Universe, yet the sulfur budget inferred from the observed sulfur-bearing molecules in dense cores is significantly lower than expected.

Juice-UVS saw gas and dust elements stretching up to more than 5 million km from 3I/ATLAS’s nucleus on November 25, 2025, when the comet had dimmed considerably relative to November 2 observations. Black spots are where stars appeared in the scanned image, removed here for clarity. Credit: NASA/ESA/Southwest Research Institute

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

Two Spacecraft Observed Both Hemispheres Of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Simultaneously

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2026May 14, 2026

The Southwest Research Institute-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) instruments aboard ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft and NASA’s Europa Clipper made unique observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in late 2025. […]

Diagnostic band ratio diagrams extracted from the PAH diagnostic grids (Figure 4), illustrating the influence of varying aliphatic content (0%, 33.3%, 50%, and 100%) at five fixed ionization fractions (Neutral, N67C33, N50C50, N33C67, and Cation). Each panel presents data points representing individual PAH species or mixtures color-coded by their number of carbon atoms (Nc). Linear fits (solid and dashed lines) connect points within each ionization fraction to quantify trends in diagnostic ratios with increasing aliphatic content. The bottom-right panel summarizes these trends by showing the slope distribution histogram of the linear fits across different ionization states, highlighting the systematic increase in slope with aliphatic fraction for all cases except the fully ionized state. -- astro-ph.GA

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

The Influence of Aliphatic Components on the Aromatic Emission Characteristics of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2026May 14, 2026

Intensity ratios of aromatic emission features are widely used to diagnose the size and ionization state of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in astronomical environments.

Velocity-integrated intensity maps and spatial averaged spectra

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

The Evolution Of C4H And c-C3H2 In Molecular Cores

by Keith CowingMay 13, 2026May 13, 2026

Linear C4H and cyclic c-C3H2, as small unsaturated hydrocarbons, are the key precursors to complex organic molecules and are critical components of the interstellar medium. We present on-the-fly mapping observations […]

Dissimilarity analysis of evenness curves for amino-acid assemblages. (a) Mul- tidimensional Scaling (MDS) projection

Astrobiology (general), Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release

New Method Sharpens The Search For Alien Biology

by Keith CowingMay 12, 2026May 12, 2026

For decades, the search for life beyond Earth has revolved around a key question: What molecules should scientists be looking for on other planets or moons?

Grayscale backscattered electron images of (a) OREX-803086-100 (“Sample A", hummocky) -- Science Direct

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Sample Return, Status Report

Fatigue-crack Formation In Samples From Asteroid Bennu And Petrologic Controls On Boulder Properties And Evolution

by Keith CowingMay 12, 2026May 12, 2026

Thermal fatigue has been observed to be an important driver of boulder evolution on asteroid Bennu through the development of morphological features such as exfoliation flakes and linear fractures in […]

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

First Interstellar Detection of Methyl Carbamate: A New Observational Anchor for Glycine Chemistry

by Keith CowingMay 12, 2026May 12, 2026

Glycine-the simplest amino acid-has remained undetected in the interstellar medium despite decades of sensitive searches, motivating alternative approaches to constrain its astrochemical origin.

This image of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope was taken on May 19, 2009 after deployment during Servicing Mission 4. NASA

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

The Hubble Advanced Spectral Product (HASP) Program

by Keith CowingMay 12, 2026May 12, 2026

The Hubble Advanced Spectral Products (HASP) program is designed to robustly coadd Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) spectra within the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes […]

PPV plot of the (sub)millimeter HCN-to-HCO+ flux ratios at J=2–1, J=3–2, and J=4–3, with a velocity resolution of 20 km s−1 and a pixel scale of 0. ′′02 pixel−1 for IRAS 00091−0738. The HCN-to-HCO+ flux ratios are calculated in brightness temperature (K). (This is virtually identical to the ratio in flux density (Jy ∝ K × ν 2 ), because the HCN and HCO+ frequencies differ only by a factor of ∼1.006 at the same J transition.) Only data with >3σ detections in emission for both the HCN and HCO+ lines are plotted. The color bar corresponds to 0.285 (blue) to 3.5 (pink) in the same way as Nishimura et al. (2024). Left: All >3σ-detected data. Center : Data with the top 10% ratios. Right: Data with ratios >1.5. East is to the left and west is to the right along the ∆α axis. North is farther and south is nearer along the ∆δ axis. -- astro-ph.GA

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

Spectrally And Spatially Resolved (sub)millimeter HCN-to-HCO+ Flux Ratios In Nearby Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies

by Keith CowingMay 12, 2026May 12, 2026

We present the results of our investigations of spectrally and spatially resolved (sub)millimeter HCN-to-HCO+ flux ratios at J=2-1, J=3-2, and/or J=4-3 in 18 nearby (z< 0.15) ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs), […]

Astrochemistry

Fizzy Water Ice In Space: CO2 Adsorption, Binding Energies And Its Fate In A Protoplanetary Disk

Tracing The Sulfur Depletion In Starless And Pre-stellar Cores

Two Spacecraft Observed Both Hemispheres Of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Simultaneously

The Influence of Aliphatic Components on the Aromatic Emission Characteristics of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

The Evolution Of C4H And c-C3H2 In Molecular Cores

New Method Sharpens The Search For Alien Biology

Fatigue-crack Formation In Samples From Asteroid Bennu And Petrologic Controls On Boulder Properties And Evolution

First Interstellar Detection of Methyl Carbamate: A New Observational Anchor for Glycine Chemistry

The Hubble Advanced Spectral Product (HASP) Program

Spectrally And Spatially Resolved (sub)millimeter HCN-to-HCO+ Flux Ratios In Nearby Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies

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