protostellar Archives

Observational data and retrieved transmission spectrum.

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.

Zoomed-in maps of the system at t = tff+10 kyr (top) and t = tff + 150 kyr (bottom). The colors represent the number density of the gas, while the white lines indicate the iso-contours of the temperature at T= 50, 75, 100, and 300 K. -- astro-ph.GA

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

The Evolution Of Complex Organic Molecules During Star Formation

by Keith CowingSeptember 19, 2025September 19, 2025

Complex organic molecules (COMs) are thought to be the precursors of pre-biotic molecules and are observed in many protostellar sources.

Time-averaged chemical evolution of the studied species across all second stage models, as defined in Tab. 2. Line styles and shading follow those in Fig. 1. Only gas-phase abundances above the detectable threshold (X > 10−14) are considered. Changes in abundance, including both enhancement and depletion, generally follow the timescales seen in the average temperature profiles (see Fig. 1). In models of protostellar objects, the species that most frequently dominates over the others is HCN, whereas in shocks, CH3OH is the most dominant during the shock phase, while SiO takes over in the post-shock phase. -- astro-ph.GA

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

Chemical Templates Of The Central Molecular Zone. Shock And Protostellar Object Signatures Under Galactic Center Conditions

by Keith CowingAugust 15, 2025August 15, 2025

(Abridged) The Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) of the Milky Way exhibits extreme conditions, including high gas densities, elevated temperatures, enhanced cosmic-ray ionization rates, and large-scale dynamics. Large-scale molecular surveys reveal […]

protostellar

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

Astrochemical Study of Early Embedded Discs

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

First Detection of the Glycine Isomer Glycolamide in Hot Molecular Core

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

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

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

The Interstellar Heritage Of Comets

The Evolution Of Complex Organic Molecules During Star Formation

Chemical Templates Of The Central Molecular Zone. Shock And Protostellar Object Signatures Under Galactic Center Conditions

Tricorder Tech: New Handheld Device Maps Chemical Composition Using Infrared Light

No Statistically Significant Evidence For A Correlation Between Stellar And planetary Composition

Water Planet Recon: How Accurately Can We Measure Earth Ocean’s Deepest Point?

Webb Reveals A Stunning Panorama Of Star Formation

Deep Learning of SHERLOC Raman Spectra For Facilitating Mars Astromaterial Identification