astrochemistry Archives

Southwest Research Institute scientists modeled the early impact history of Earth, seeking insight into potential origins of life. Based on the models, a 6-mile (10-kilometer) asteroid striking the early Earth at 9 miles per second (15 km/second) creates a crater with impact-generated permeability (left) and heat profiles (right) that could create hydrothermal conditions capable of supporting the evolution of life. -- SWRI

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Press Release

Impact History Of Early Earth Created Conditions Conducive To Life

by Keith CowingJune 8, 2026June 8, 2026

Southwest Research Institute scientists modeled the early impact history of Earth, seeking insight into potential origins of life. These models show that asteroid impacts on the early Earth plowed up […]

Hierarchical clustering of the molecular cores based on the abundance ratios HN13C/HC3N, H13CO+/HC3N, and HC17O+/HC3N. Top panel: dendrogram obtained using Ward’s method. The vertical axis represents the Ward distance, which quantifies the chemical dissimilarity between cores. The horizontal dashed line indicates the adopted linkage-distance cut. The x-axis labels denote the core numbering. Bottom panels: mean abundance ratios of HN13

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

Simple Cyanides and Formylium Ions Isotopologues in Early Star-forming Molecular Cores

by Keith CowingJune 8, 2026June 10, 2026

Understanding the chemistry related to the early stages of star formation is of great importance, as it is linked to the beginnings of the most complex chemistry in the interstellar […]

Upper left panel: Moment 0 map of HC3N emission. Top center panels: Channel maps of the HC3N line; selected velocity channels are shown to highlight the Keplerian rotation of the disk. Bottom panel: Matched filter response spectrum for the full spectral window containing the HC3N J = 12-11 transition. The red dashed line marks the expected rest frequency of HC5N J = 41-40. -- astro-ph.SR

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

First Detection of HC5N in a Class II Disk around TW Hya

by Keith CowingJune 8, 2026June 10, 2026

Over the last decade of ALMA’s operation the molecular inventory of protoplanetary disks has expanded rapidly, revealing a diverse set of nitrogen-bearing organics and carbon-chain molecules that trace both prebiotic […]

A schematic representation of the evolution of the outer disk. CI chondrites including Ryugu and Bennu’s parent bodies accrete at the water ice line inward from a barrier trapping outward transported calcium-aluminum-inclusions (CAIs) and chondrules. Fresh input from a streamer pollutes the outer disk, where mixing of CI-like and this material leads to the formation of carbonaceous chondrites. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Intelligence & Language, Interstellar, Status Report

Late Infall Of Molecular Cloud Material Reshaped The Outer Solar System

by Keith CowingJune 7, 2026June 7, 2026

Understanding the physicochemical evolution of the outer protoplanetary disk is critical because it governed the distribution and delivery of key volatiles such as water and organic compounds to the inner, […]

Moment-zero maps for all of the Lupus and Upper Sco sources. The grayscale panels represent non-detections. No H2CO data was available for Upper Sco 6 and for the p-4-3 line for Lupus 6, Upper Sco 9, and Upper Sco 10. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

The ALMA Survey of Gas Evolution of PROtoplanetary Disks (AGE-PRO): Formaldehyde (H2CO) Emission And Its Links To Disk Properties

by Keith CowingJune 7, 2026June 7, 2026

Protoplanetary disks are rotating structures of gas and dust surrounding young stars, serving as the birth places of planets. Understanding the chemical evolution of organic materials in these disks is […]

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images of Ligeia Mare and Ontario Lacus obtained by the Cassini Spacecraft (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Cornell) and corresponding lake bathymetry. (a) Ontario Lacus: SAR image collected on 12 Jan. 2010 centered at 72°S 183°W. Image ID: PIA13172. Red circled region indicates potential smooth wave-modified coast (Palermo et al., 2024; Wall et al., 2010); (b) Ligeia Mare: a mosaic of SAR images collected between February 2006 and April 2007 and combined to create image PIA17031 centered at 79°N 248°W. Locations of a potential straight wave-modified coast (Wall et al., 2010) and the location of the magic island observations (Hofgartner et al., 2014, 2016) are annotated; SAR-based bathymetric maps of (c) Ontario Lacus and (d) Ligeia Mare (Hayes, 2016) were used as inputs to our wave model. -- Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Modeling the Seasonality of Wind-Driven Hydrocarbon Waves in Titan’s Polar Lakes

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2026June 5, 2026

Titan, the only body in the solar system aside from Earth with standing liquids on its surface, has high-latitude hydrocarbon lakes and seas. As Titan’s atmosphere generates light winds, there […]

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

Detection Of A Four-carbon Sugar In Interstellar Space (Erythrulose)

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2026June 5, 2026

Sugars are essential biomolecules, serving as metabolic fuels, nucleic acid backbone components, and structural or energy-storage polymers. A central question in origin-of-life research is how monosaccharides formed on the primitive […]

(Left) TPD curves of SO2 deposited at 80 K on c-ASW (circles) for different coverages (1 ML, blue; 0.72 ML, red; 0.48 ML, green; 0.16 ML, magenta; and 0.07 ML, orange) in the submonolayer regime, with corresponding first-order fits (black lines). (Right) Associated adsorption energy distribution for each TPD curve. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Temperature-programmed Desorption Of SO2 From Water Ice Surfaces: Adsorption Energy Distributions

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2026June 5, 2026

Context. Sulphur-bearing species play a key role in the chemical evolution of the interstellar medium and icy Solar System bodies such as the Jovian moons, yet the sulphur budget remains […]

Allen Telescope Array (ATA) at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory in Northern California -- SETI Institute

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Intelligence & Language, Interstellar, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures

SETI Institute Looks for Signs of Technology in Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS

by Keith CowingJune 4, 2026June 4, 2026

Scientists at the SETI Institute searched for technological signals from 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object observed in our Solar System.

Top row: molecular structures of 1,4-, 1,5-, and 2,3-dimethylnaphthalene cations (1,4-, 1,5, and 2,3-diMeNp.+). Bottom row: molecular structures of the three expected longlived isomers of C11H9+ cations: benzyltropylium (BzTr+ ), 1-, and 2-naphthylmethylium (1- and 2-NpCH2+ ). -- astro-ph.GA

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

Acenaphthene Derivatives As Signatures Of C11H9 Reactivity With Methylated Naphthalenes

by Keith CowingJune 4, 2026June 4, 2026

C11H+9 ion is the dominant fragment cation formed from methyl-naphthalene (MeNp) and dimethyl-naphthalene (diMeNp).

astrochemistry

Impact History Of Early Earth Created Conditions Conducive To Life

Simple Cyanides and Formylium Ions Isotopologues in Early Star-forming Molecular Cores

First Detection of HC5N in a Class II Disk around TW Hya

Late Infall Of Molecular Cloud Material Reshaped The Outer Solar System

The ALMA Survey of Gas Evolution of PROtoplanetary Disks (AGE-PRO): Formaldehyde (H2CO) Emission And Its Links To Disk Properties

Modeling the Seasonality of Wind-Driven Hydrocarbon Waves in Titan’s Polar Lakes

Detection Of A Four-carbon Sugar In Interstellar Space (Erythrulose)

Temperature-programmed Desorption Of SO2 From Water Ice Surfaces: Adsorption Energy Distributions

SETI Institute Looks for Signs of Technology in Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS

Acenaphthene Derivatives As Signatures Of C11H9 Reactivity With Methylated Naphthalenes

Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 7 November 2026: Building Up Our Research Base Infrastructure

Agentic AI Joins the Search for Extraterrestrial Signals

The Composition of M-dwarf Exoplanet Hosts: Atmospheric Parameters and O, Mg, Si, and Fe Abundances from IR Spectroscopy

An Analytical Framework for Atmospheric Tides on Rocky Planets. II. Semidiurnal Thermotidal Torque

Formamide Formation on Forsterite and Mg(OH)2.H2O