Using the Cooled Mid-Infrared Camera and Spectrometer (COMICS) on the Subaru Telescope, astronomers have detected an unidentified infrared emission band from comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner (hereafter, comet 21P/G-Z) in addition to the […]
astrochemistry
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
Mysteries Behind Interstellar Buckyballs Finally Answered
Scientists have long been puzzled by the existence of so-called “buckyballs” — complex carbon molecules with a soccer-ball-like structure — throughout interstellar space. Now, a team of researchers from the […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
Radiolysis Generates a Complex Organosynthetic Chemical Network
Origins of life chemistry has progressed from seeking out the production of specific molecules to seeking out conditions in which macromolecular precursors may interact with one another in ways that […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
The First Steps of Interstellar Phosphorus Chemistry
Phosphorus-bearing species are an essential key to form life on Earth, however they have barely been detected in the interstellar medium. Since only PN and PO have been identified so […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
Connecting Planet Formation And Astrochemistry: A Main Sequence For C/O in Hot-exoplanetary Atmospheres
To understand the role that planet formation history has on the observable atmospheric carbon-to-oxygen ratio (C/O) we have produced a population of astrochemically evolving protoplanetary disks. Based on the parameters […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Detection of a Water Tracer in Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov
We present high spectral resolution optical spectra obtained with the ARCES instrument at Apache Point Observatory showing detection of the [OI]6300 A line in interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. We employ the […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
Chemistry On Rotating Grain Surfaces: Ro-thermal Hopping And Segregation Of Molecules In Ice Mantles
Grain surfaces play a central role in the formation and desorption of molecules in space. To form molecules on a grain surface, adsorbed species trapped in binding sites must be […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Press Release
Measuring The Atomic Composition Of Planetary Building Blocks
Volatile molecules are critical to habitability, yet difficult to observe directly at the optically thick midplanes of protoplanetary disks, where planets form. We present a new technique to measure indirectly […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
Chemical Evolution of HC3N in Dense Molecular Clouds
We investigated the chemical evolution of HC3N in six dense molecular clouds, using archival available data from the Herschel infrared Galactic Plane Survey (Hi-GAL) and the Millimeter Astronomy Legacy Team […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Complex Organic Molecules In Accretion Shocks Around A Hot Core Precursor
Zeroth moment maps of some simple molecules, and selected transitions of COMs. All contours correspond to significant emission and start at 20% of the maximum value and increase by 15% […]