![Ratio maps involving the PAH7.7 feature and the F1500W synthetic photometry applied to the MRS cubes for ASPECS galaxies. The first row of panels shows the maps of the total PAH7.7 feature to the synthetic F1500W photometry. Ratios above 1 are possible because the wings of the PAH feature extend well beyond the filter (see text for details and Donnan et al. 2026b). The second row of panels is the fraction of PAH7.7 feature within the F1500W filter to the synthetic F1500W photometry. The third row of panels is the same as the second but for the fraction of continuum emission within the F1500W to the synthetic F1500W photometry -- [astro-ph.GA]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/PAHSPECS.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.GA] The physical conditions of the interstellar medium (ISM) are thought to differ greatly at high redshifts compared to local galaxies. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are key ISM constituents, mediating […]
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Posted inAstrochemistry
Chemists Uncover How Unthinkable Reactions Occur In Unimaginable Conditions
[Florida International University] Before there was Earth, there was chemistry. In the unimaginable cold, dark clouds where stars and planets are born, carbon molecules assemble into more complex forms — […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Interstellar Aromatic Infrared Bands: IR Absorption Spectroscopy Of The Lowest Triplet State Of Naphthalene
[astro-ph.GA] The aromatic infrared bands (AIBs), emission features observed ubiquitously across a wide variety of interstellar objects, are commonly attributed to radiative cooling of highly-excited ground-state vibrational levels of polycyclic […]
Posted inVenus
Altered Cosmic Organics As Venus’ Ultraviolet Absorbers
[astro-ph.EP] Venus’ ultraviolet (UV) absorbers significantly contribute to the atmosphere’s energy budget. However, the composition of these absorbers remains a mystery.
![Schematic diagram of our spectral line stacking and matched filtering procedures. First, (a) shows relevant spectral regions of the (synthetic) observational data (black) and an initial spectral simulation (red). Each spectral window is then weighted based on the signal-to-noise ratio of each region to create a velocity stack of all relevant molecular rotational transitions (b). Finally, the stacked simulation is used as a matched filter and is cross-correlated with the stacked data to visualize the statistical significance of a given detection (c). -- [astro-ph.GA]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Exploring-the-Limits.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Exploring the Limits of Spectral Line Stacking in Spectral Line Data and Application Toward the Detection of Bulk 13C Enrichment of Aromatics in TMC-1
[astro-ph.GA] The formation history of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the interstellar medium remains a topic of active debate, with proposed mechanisms ranging from high-temperature stellar ejecta processes to low-temperature […]
![DFT-computed anharmonic absorption spectra of 1-cyanonaphthalene in its neutral (1-CNN0 , top panel), cation (1-CNN+ , middle panel), and anion (1-CNN− , bottom panel) charge states. The calculated vibrational transitions are convolved with a Lorentzian profile using a FWHM of 4 cm−1 to simulate realistic spectral profiles. Numerical labels near the major peaks represent their respective wavelengths. Key vibrational bands, including the CN stretch at ∼ 4.4–4.6 µm and the CH stretch at ∼ 3.2–3.3 µm, are explicitly highlighted.-- [astro-ph.GA]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Anharmonic-Infrared-Emission.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Anharmonic Infrared Emission Of Cyano-Substituted Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Molecules: Cyanonaphthalenes As A Case Study
[astro-ph.GA] Recent detections of cyano-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cyano-PAHs) highlight them as key tracers of nitrogen heterocycles in the interstellar medium (ISM).
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather
Triassic Inferno: Fires Raged Across Europe For thousands Of Years During Past Global Warming
[Utrecht University] The end-Triassic mass extinction, 201 million years ago, is linked to volcanism that resulted from the break-up of Pangea and which pumped out vast amounts of CO2 into […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Dual Use Technology – An Astrochemistry Spin Off
Editor’s note: many of the tools that are used in astronomy to conduct analyses of chemistry in space – astrochemistry – utilize technology that has had long-standing applications in a […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Theoretical and Experimental IR Spectra of Astronomical PAHs and PANHs in the 2000–1650 cm–1 Range (∼5–6 μm)
[ACS Earth and Space Chemistry] Recent James Webb Space Telescope observations reveal unprecedented details in the 2000–1650 cm–1 (∼5–6 μm) region, including the well-known 5.25 and 5.75 μm bands.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Survival Of Very Small Carbonaceous Dust Grains In The Inner-CGM Of NGC 891 From JWST/MIRI MRS
We present new spectroscopic observations of the inner circumgalactic medium (CGM) of NGC 891 taken with the Mid-Infrared Imager/Medium Resolution Spectroscopy instrument onboard JWST, in four positions: two near the […]