protostellar Archives

Complex Organic Molecules In Protostars With ALMA Spectral Surveys (COMPASS) VII. First Interstellar Detection Of Fully Deuterated Methanol

by Keith CowingOctober 9, 2026October 9, 2026

[astro-ph.GA] There have been no robust identifications of fully deuterated methanol, CD3OD, in the interstellar medium (ISM) to date.

Absolute CSs for the reaction of P+ with C2H2, measured at ECM = 0.14 eV as a function of the photon energy. Products are detected at m/z 56 (HCCP+, orange triangles) and m/z 55 (CCP+, blue circles). From Ephot ≈23 eV an additional product is observed at m/z 26 (C2H2 +, black squares). The vertical dashed black line indicates Ephot value at which CS trends as a function of ECM have been measured. Grey and red arrows indicate the calculated thermodynamic thresholds for production of P+ in ground and excited states, as detailed in the text.-- [astro-ph.SR]

Astrochemistry

Synthesis Of Organo-phosphorous Species In Space: The Reaction Of P+ With C2H2

by Keith CowingOctober 8, 2026October 8, 2026

[astro-ph.SR] Despite its low cosmic abundance, phosphorus is a bioessential element whose prebiotic availability and incorporation into biomolecules remain open questions. Only a few phosphorous containing molecules with P to […]

Observational data and retrieved transmission spectrum.

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets

Atmospheric Retrieval Evidence For Water Isotopologue HDO On Exoplanet WASP-39b

by Keith CowingJuly 24, 2026July 24, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] Hydrogen-isotopologues are commonly used to trace the chemical processing and origin of hydrogen-bearing species throughout the Universe, however, their abundance remains unconstrained for extrasolar planets.

Schematic of a Sun-like star and planet formation, showing the transition from a prestellar core to a planetary system. This figure was generated using Gemini (Google) based on an original conceptual sketch provided by the author. -- astro-ph.SR

Astrochemistry

Astrochemical Study of Early Embedded Discs

by Keith CowingJuly 1, 2026July 1, 2026

[astro-ph.SR] The question of how our planet was formed and, more generally, how a planetary system forms is fundamental and has been addressed in a broad range of research domains. […]

The (H2O)18 cluster used in the present work, optimized at the B97X-D3/def2-TZVP level. Panels a, b, and c represent the three different initial N2 adsorption sites. -- astro-ph.GA

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

The Reaction Between Atomic Carbon And Molecular Nitrogen As A Source Of Cyanamide And Carbodiimide On Interstellar Ices

by Keith CowingApril 23, 2026April 23, 2026

Reactions occurring on the ice-covered surfaces of interstellar dust grains are considered to be among the most important sources of complex species in the interstellar medium. Despite this, molecules such […]

(a) 1 mm continuum image of G358.93-0.03. Contour levels correspond to (20, 40, 80, 120, 200, 500, 1000, 1700) × σ, where σ is the rms noise level. The white ellipse in the lower-left corner indicates the synthesized beam 0.15"×0.1" (position angle -87.1◦ ). (b) Enlarged view of MM1. The continuum peak is marked by a white cross, and the offset extraction position used for spectral analysis is marked by a red cross. (c-e) Integrated intensity (Moment-0) maps of NH2CHO, CH3C(O)NH2, and syn-HOCH2C(O)NH2 toward G358.93 MM1, overlaid with 1 mm continuum emission contours from panel (a). The color scale unit is Jy beam−1 km s−1. -- astro-ph.GA

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

First Detection of the Glycine Isomer Glycolamide in Hot Molecular Core

by Keith CowingMarch 25, 2026March 25, 2026

Understanding whether prebiotic molecules can endure and reform through the energetic stages of star formation is essential for tracing the continuity of interstellar chemistry toward life. Glycolamide, an isomer of […]

Spectrally integrated line flux maps for 3I/ATLAS observed using JWST NIRSpec: (a) H2O at 2.7 µm, (b) CO2 at 4.3 µm, (c) CO at 4.7 µm. Image axes are aligned with the equatorial (RA/decl.) grid. Molecular emission has been isolated by subtracting a polynomial fit to the adjacent continuum. Spatial coordinates are with respect to the brightest pixel in each map (the pseudo-nucleus). Inset panels (upper right) show the continuum-subtracted spectra within the image integration wavelength range, spatially integrated within a 3′′ diameter circular aperture centered on the pseudo-nucleus (corresponding to 3,900 km at the 1.8 au distance of the comet from the telescope). Lower left corner shows the direction of the (sky-projected) comet-Sun (S) and nucleus velocity (v) vectors. -- astro-ph.EP

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

Isotopic Evidence For A Cold And Distant Origin Of The Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS

by Keith CowingMarch 17, 2026March 17, 2026

Interstellar objects provide the only directly observable samples of icy planetesimals formed around other stars, and can therefore provide insight into the diversity of physical and chemical conditions occurring during […]

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.

The left panel shows a zoom of the GA and ethanol emission maps toward B0, B1 and B2 respectively, integrated over the velocity range [−10, 5] km s−1

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

Glycolaldehyde And Ethanol Toward The L1157 Outflow: Resolved Images And Constraints On Glycolaldehyde Formation

by Keith CowingOctober 24, 2025October 22, 2025

Two main formation routes have been proposed for interstellar complex organic molecules (iCOMs): on dust grain surfaces and in the gas phase. Observing such molecules in protostellar outflow shock regions […]

IRAS 16293-2422 b -- European Southern Observatory

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

The Interstellar Heritage Of Comets

by Keith CowingSeptember 30, 2025September 30, 2025

Comets have similar compositions to interstellar medium ices, suggesting at least some of their molecules maybe inherited from an earlier stage of evolution.