astrochemistry Archives

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Hayabusa2 Asteroid Samples Offer New Insights Into Conditions When The Solar System Formed

by Keith CowingMarch 4, 2026March 4, 2026

To uncover the history of our solar system, it is necessary to study the dynamic evolution of the ancient solar nebula materials.

(Left) North and (right) south polar azimuthal equidistant projection enhanced color-composite maps, , with the blue, green, and red channels assigned to the ul-band, v-band, and p-band. The circumference is the equator. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report

Bundle Adjustment Of Hayabusa2’s ONC Images And Controlled Color Mosaic Map Of Ryugu

by Keith CowingMarch 3, 2026March 3, 2026

JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission successfully returned samples from the asteroid Ryugu in December 2020. It executed two touchdowns to collect the surface and subsurface materials, one close to the crater created […]

Graphical Abstract Communications Chemistry via PubMed

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Low-energy Glycine Formation And Spectral Masking In Star-forming Regions

by Keith CowingMarch 3, 2026March 3, 2026

The presence of amino acids in comets and meteorites has long suggested that prebiotic molecules may have formed in space and contributed to the origins of life on Earth.

A.1. Location of CO2 ice in NGC 6302. The image shows HST/WFC3 observations featuring filter F656N (Kastner et al. 2022), which traces Hα emission. The JWST MIRI mosaic is indicated by the white frame. Contours show the column density of gas-phase CO2, with corresponding log N values (cm−2 ) provided in the lower left. The yellow dot marks the pixel position (R.A. = 17h :13m :44.402s , Dec. = - 37◦ :06′ :10.23 (J2000))used to extract the spectra shown in the Figs. 1, 2, B.1, C.1. - astro-ph.GA

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

Detection Of CO2 Ice In The Planetary Nebula NGC 6302

by Keith CowingFebruary 28, 2026February 28, 2026

Using JWST/MIRI observations, we report the detection of CO2 ice in the dusty torus of the planetary nebula NGC 6302, an environment generally considered hostile to fragile molecular species and […]

This image shows the location of the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), a region at the core of our galaxy rich in dense and intricate gas clouds. This zone has been mapped with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), as part of the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey or ACES. The inset is an ACES image where different molecules are displayed in different colours. The entire image – the largest ever made with ALMA – is as long as three full Moons side-by-side in the sky. Credit: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/S. Longmore et al. Stars in inset: ESO/D. Minniti et al. Milky Way: ESO/S. Guisard Larger image

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

Astrochemistry In The Central Molecular Zone Of The Milky Way

by Keith CowingFebruary 26, 2026February 26, 2026

Astronomers have captured the central region of our Milky Way in a striking new image, unveiling a complex network of filaments of cosmic gas in unprecedented detail. Obtained with the […]

Analog Studies, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Experimental And Computational Studies Of The Hydrogenation Of Carbon Disulfide (CS2) On Ice Analogues

by Keith CowingFebruary 26, 2026February 26, 2026

Carbon disulfide (CS2) is one of the sulfur-bearing species expected to be present in the interstellar medium (ISM). In this study, we investigated the surface reactions of solid CS2 with […]

One hour stacked HATPI subtracted images of 3I/ATLAS from each of the nights on which 3I/ATLAS is formally detected with 3σ confidenc

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

HATPI Pre-Perihelion Time-series Photometry of the Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

by Keith CowingFebruary 26, 2026February 26, 2026

HATPI is a recently commissioned time-domain facility at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile, that uses 64 wide-angle, 9.6 cm diameter lenses and back-illuminated CCDs, yielding a mosaic field-of-view of 7,100 square […]

Illustration of liposome protection from UV. The top panel shows a drawing of the crater. The top- and sideview photographs show the intensity distribution of the blue color after UV exposure. When subjected to UV radiation, the liposomes go through a color change from the original white to blue, with the color intensity correlated with the level of physical destruction of the liposomes. Furthermore, the liposomes change to red when exposed to high heat. The experiment shows that liposomes located at the edges and not covered by the solution turn to blue and then to red within the first few seconds of UV exposure, likely due to the combined effects of UV and heat emitted from the lamp. Liposomes covered by the solution demonstrate a gradual change of the blue color from deep-blue for those at the edge to less intense and almost transparent, deeper toward the center. Even after more than two hours of UV exposure, the liposomes in the crater’s center stayed intact. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Sample Return, Status Report

Experimental And Numerical Modeling Of Liposome Congregation In Meteorite Craters Of Early Earth

by Keith CowingFebruary 25, 2026February 25, 2026

This paper provides experimental and numerical evidence supporting the occurrence of liposome congregation at the floors of meteor craters on Early Earth.

An artist’s illustration depicts the astrosphere in more detail, including a bow shock in blue — akin to a sonic boom in front of a supersonic plane — that is caused by the motion of the star and its astrosphere as it pushes against and flies through gas in interstellar space. -- Chandra X-ray Center

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

Astrochemistry: Young Sun-like Star HD 61005 Blowing X-ray Astrosphere Bubble

by Keith CowingFebruary 25, 2026February 25, 2026

For the first time, a much younger version of the Sun has been caught red-handed blowing bubbles in the galaxy, by astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Simulation results of abundance ratios [H2O2]/[H2O] (black lines), [H2]/[H2O] (orange lines), and [O2]/[H2O] (blue lines) with our model (model A) at 16 K (solid lines) and 77 K (dashed lines). The gray shaded and line filled regions show the experimental results of [H2O2]/[H2O] by Gomis et al. (2004a) at 16 and 77 K, respectively, with an assumed uncertainty of a factor of 3. -- astro-ph.GA

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Simulation Of Proton Radiolysis Of H2O And O2 Ices With The Nautilus Code

by Keith CowingFebruary 25, 2026February 25, 2026

The radiolysis effect of cosmic rays (CRs) plays an important role in the chemistry in molecular clouds. CRs can dissociate the molecules on dust grains, producing reactive suprathermal species and […]

astrochemistry

Hayabusa2 Asteroid Samples Offer New Insights Into Conditions When The Solar System Formed

Bundle Adjustment Of Hayabusa2’s ONC Images And Controlled Color Mosaic Map Of Ryugu

Low-energy Glycine Formation And Spectral Masking In Star-forming Regions

Detection Of CO2 Ice In The Planetary Nebula NGC 6302

Astrochemistry In The Central Molecular Zone Of The Milky Way

Experimental And Computational Studies Of The Hydrogenation Of Carbon Disulfide (CS2) On Ice Analogues

HATPI Pre-Perihelion Time-series Photometry of the Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

Experimental And Numerical Modeling Of Liposome Congregation In Meteorite Craters Of Early Earth

Astrochemistry: Young Sun-like Star HD 61005 Blowing X-ray Astrosphere Bubble

Simulation Of Proton Radiolysis Of H2O And O2 Ices With The Nautilus Code

Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 9 November 2026: Lake Untersee Basecamp Update

From Anoxic to Oxic Earth: Detectability of Atmospheric Biosignatures Across Stellar Hosts with ELT/ANDES

The Kinetic Basis of the Genetic Code

Power Density as a Universal Biosignature: An Application to the Stellivore Hypothesis

The Limits of Tidal Circularization and Atmospheric Escape for Mini-Neptunes and Super-Earths: The Case of TOI-2257 b