Large Magellanic Cloud Archives - Astrobiology

Schematic summary of COM-poor hot cores in low-metallicity environments. In the LMC, COM-poor hot cores are currently found only outside the bar region (i.e., lower metallicity, Z), where all of them have high bolometric luminosity (Lbol) and are associated with high star-formation (SF) activity (S24µm,10pc indicates 24 µm surface brightness averaged over a 10 pc radius around each hot core). In the even lower-metallicity SMC, both known hot cores are COM-poor despite having only moderate luminosity and star-formation activity. In contrast, the two known hot cores in the outer Galaxy are COM-rich despite the low metallicity, highlighting that low metallicity alone does not necessarily result in COM-poor chemistry. -- astro-ph.GA

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

MAGellanic Outflow And Chemistry Survey (MAGOS): Hot Cores In The LMC

by Keith CowingDecember 25, 2025December 25, 2025

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) provides a key laboratory for exploring the diversity of star formation and interstellar chemistry under subsolar metallicity conditions.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), researchers detected organic molecules with more than six atoms frozen in ice around a young star called ST6 forming in the neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. The full galaxy is shown in the far-infrared image in the top right inset. The main image is the zoom-in on the star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud hosting the protostar ST6. It is a combination of mid-infrared data from Spitzer and visible (H-alpha) data from the 0.9-m Curtis Schmidt Telescope. The Webb’s MIRI image at a wavelength of 19 microns in the main inset shows the protostar ST6. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/JPL-Caltech/M. Sewiło et al. (2025)

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Interstellar, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Building Blocks Of Life Located In Ice Around A Forming Star In A Neighboring Galaxy

by Keith CowingOctober 21, 2025October 21, 2025

In a discovery that could reshape our understanding of how the chemical ingredients for life spread throughout the cosmos, astronomers detected organic molecules with more than six atoms frozen in […]

M31, SMC, and LMC survey sections. Only sections with galactic structure were imaged by the LGTS. Galactic images generated in Stellarium using a small FOV Mercator projection. -- astro-ph.IM

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Intelligence & Language, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report

The Local Galactic Transient Survey Applied to an Optical Search for Directed Intelligence

by Keith CowingFebruary 5, 2025

We discuss our transient search for directed energy systems in local galaxies, with calculations indicating the ability of modest searches to detect optical Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) sources in […]

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a section of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. ESA/Hubble, NASA, and C. Murray larger image

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Astrochemistry: Hubble Studies the Tarantula Nebula’s Outskirts

by Keith CowingJanuary 25, 2025

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a dusty yet sparkling scene from one of the Milky Way’s satellite galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Large Magellanic Cloud is a […]

Visibility and image of WOH G64 obtained from our VLTI/GRAVITY observations. a: u3 coverage of our VLTI/GRAVITY observations of WOH G64 with the calibrated visibility color-coded. North is up, east is to the left. b: Image of WOH G64 reconstructed at 2.2 µm (with a spectral window of 0.2 µm) using IRBis with the maximum entropy regularization. North is up, east is to the left. -- Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Stellar Cartography

Stellar Cartography: The First Close-up Picture Of A Star Outside Our Galaxy

by Keith CowingNovember 21, 2024November 21, 2024

“For the first time, we have succeeded in taking a zoomed-in image of a dying star in a galaxy outside our own Milky Way,” says Keiichi Ohnaka, an astrophysicist from […]

JWST/NIRCam F335M image of 30 Dor. The blue box represents the field of view of the MIRI/MRS Channel 1. The inset shows the spectroscopic FOVs: NIRSpec (green), MIRI/MRS Channel 1 (blue), MIRI/MRS Channel 2 (pink), and MIRI/MRS Channel 3 (yellow). -- astro-ph.GA

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

A Study of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emission in 30 Dor as seen by JWST

by Keith CowingOctober 29, 2024October 29, 2024

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are responsible for strong mid-IR emission features near star-forming regions. It is well known that low-metallicity environments exhibit weaker PAH emission, but it is not clear […]

This artist’s impression shows the HH 1177 system, which is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighbouring galaxy of our own. The young and massive stellar object glowing in the centre is collecting matter from a dusty disc while also expelling matter in powerful jets. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, a team of astronomers managed to find evidence for the presence of this disc by observing its rotation. This is the first time a disc around a young star — the type of disc identical to those forming planets in our own galaxy — has been discovered in another galaxy. CREDIT ESO/M. Kornmesser

Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release

Astronomers Discover A Disc Around A Star In Another Galaxy For The First Time

by Keith CowingNovember 30, 2023November 30, 2023

In a remarkable discovery, astronomers have found a disc around a young star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy neighbouring ours. It’s the first time such a disc, identical […]