acetylene Archives - Astrobiology

Schematic diagram of the AQUILA chamber. Science Direct

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Radiation, Saturn, Status Report

Water-group Ion Irradiation Studies Of Enceladus Ice Analogues: Can Radiolysis Account For Material In And Around The South Polar Plume?

by Keith CowingOctober 27, 2025October 27, 2025

Saturn’s magnetosphere contains trapped plasma and energetic charged particles which constantly irradiate the surface of Enceladus.

25.3 µm map of the NGC 7538 region from SOFIA/Faint Object infraRed Camera (FORCAST; Herter et al. 2013) archival data (Cycle 1 Program 0034, PI A. G. G. M. Tielens). Our target and brightest source, IRS 1, is at the centre with offset 0′′, 0′′ corresponding to α(J2000) = 23:13:45.37, δ(J2000) = +61:28:10.5. The positions of IRS 1 and the dimmer sources (IRS 2, IRS 3, IRS 1E, and IRS 1SE) are given by Sandell et al. (2020). In solid green is the 8.7′′×3.2′′ EXES slit from this work’s 23.9 µm setting (Table A1), and in dashed blue the 14′′ and 18′′ JCMT beams (van der Tak et al. 2000; Bisschop et al. 2007) whose CH3OH results we will use for a comparison (Section 5.1). au scale uses a distance of 2.65 kpc (Moscadelli et al. 2009). Note the logarithmic scale for the flux, which exaggerates the brightness of the non-IRS 1 sources. -- astro-ph.GA

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

The Discovery Of 25 um Interstellar Methanol

by Keith CowingAugust 4, 2025August 4, 2025

We present the first astrophysical detection of methanol (CH3OH) in the torsional band near 25 um.

Contribution functions at selected wavenumbers calculated for the best-fitting models (Fig. 5) of CIRS (red lines) and TEXES (blue lines) observations. These contribution functions, which have been normalized at each wavenumber, are Jacobians that give the rate of change of spectral flux with temperature (Panel A), logarithm of C2H2 mole fraction (Panel B), and logarithm of C2HD mole fraction (Panel C). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Titan

The D/H Ratio in Titan’s Acetylene From High Spectral Resolution IRTF/TEXES Observations

by Keith CowingJuly 31, 2024July 31, 2024

We report observations of deuterated acetylene (C2HD) at 19.3 μm (519 cm−1) with the Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph on the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility in July 2017.

Contour plot of temperatures from the atmospheric structure model, using CIRS observations from 2015 and 2017 at pressures higher than 10−6 bar to 3 × 10−4 bar and UVIS observations at pressures lower than 10−6 to 2 × 10−8 bar, where the quoted pressure limits depend on latitude. The temperatures in the coverage gap between the instruments were filled in to match the H2 density vs. radius in the thermosphere. The black diamonds show the location of the CH4 homopause, taken where CH4 volume mixing ratio equals 5 × 10−5 . A cartoon illustrating speculated low-latitude upwelling is depicted with dashed arrows near the high-altitude homopause levels. astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Saturn, Status Report

A Pole-to-Pole Map Of Hydrocarbons In Saturn’s Upper Stratosphere And Mesosphere

by Keith CowingMay 6, 2024May 6, 2024

We analyze data from the final two years of the Cassini mission to retrieve the distributions of methane, ethane, acetylene, ethylene, and benzene in Saturn’s upper stratosphere and mesosphere from […]

Evolution of carbon species in space with the participation of acetylene. -- astro-ph.GA

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

The Role of Acetylene in the Chemical Evolution of Carbon Complexity

by Keith CowingMay 6, 2024May 6, 2024

Acetylene, among the multitude of organic molecules discovered in space, plays a distinct role in the genesis of organic matter.

Webb

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Webb Study Reveals That Rocky Planets Can Form In Extreme Environments

by Keith CowingNovember 30, 2023November 30, 2023

An international team of astronomers have used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to provide the first observation of water and other molecules in the inner, rocky-planet-forming regions of a […]

Pyridine:Acetylene Co-crystal

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Titan

Experimental Characterization Of The Pyridine:Acetylene Co-crystal and Implications For Titan’s Surface

by Keith CowingMarch 1, 2023March 1, 2023

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, has a plethora of organic compounds in the atmosphere and on the surface that interact with each other.

Molecular

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Press Release, Titan

Molecular Structure, Dynamics, and Vibrational Spectroscopy of the Acetylene:Ammonia (1:1) Plastic Co-Crystal at Titan Conditions

by Keith CowingOctober 25, 2022October 25, 2022

The Saturnian moon Titan has a thick, organic-rich atmosphere, and condensed phases of small organic molecules are anticipated to be stable on its surface.