![Simulated nicotinic acid abundances compared to measured values in carbonaceous chondrites and asteroid (162173) Ryugu. A rock density of 3 g cm−3 , a porosity of 0.2, [56–58] and an ice density of 0.917 g cm−3 completely filling the pores (after all radionuclides have decayed and aqueous activity has ceased) were assumed as the properties of the planetesimal/carbonaceous chondrite hosting the chemical synthesis. The simulations were run at a pressure of 100 bar. From left to right, the plotted bars show the simulated molecular abundance of nicotinic acid (solid black line on the very left) for the whole temperature range of liquid water, as well as the abundances measured in samples of Cb asteroid (162173) Ryugu collected during the Hayabusa2 spacecraft mission, [14] in the CI chondrite Orgeil, [14] several Antarctic CM2 chondrites, [12] the CM2 chondrites Murchison and Murray, and the ungrouped C2 chondrite Tagish Lake [13] as lines and shaded ranges described in the legend. Each time, the measured nicotinic acid abundance and the sum of all isomers (nicotinic acid, isonicotinic acid, picolinic acid) are given, since thermochemical equilibrium simulations cannot distinguish between isomers. The type of extraction method used (hot water, cold water ultrasonication, HCl-hydrolyzed, formic acid) is denoted next to each panel. A tabulated version of the data presented here is available in the Supporting Information in Table S1. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/prebiotic.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Aqueous chemistry within carbonaceous planetesimals is promising for synthesizing prebiotic organic matter essential to all life.
planetesimals
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Proxima Centauri, Status Report
Delivery of Icy Planetesimals to Inner Planets in the Proxima Centauri Planetary System
The estimates of the delivery of icy planetesimals from the feeding zone of Proxima Centauri c (with mass equal to 7mE, mE is the mass of the Earth) to inner […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release, Proxima Centauri
Stable Orbits in the Feeding Zone of the Planet Proxima Centauri c
Estimates of the size of the feeding zone of the planet Proxima Centauri c have been made at initial orbital eccentricities of planetesimals equal to 0.02 or 0.15.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
How Did Earth Get Its Water?
Our planet’s water could have originated from interactions between the hydrogen-rich atmospheres and magma oceans of the planetary embryos that comprised Earth’s formative years, according to new work from Carnegie […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
How Were Amino Acids Formed Before The Origin Of Life On Earth?
Our solar system formed from a molecular cloud, which was composed of gas and dust that was emitted into the interstellar medium (ISM), a vast space between stars. On collapse […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Origin Of Isotopic Diversity Among Carbonaceous Chondrites
Carbonaceous chondrites are some of the most primitive meteorites and derive from planetesimals that formed a few million years after the beginning of the solar system.