star-forming region Archives

An artist's rendition of pair of twin stars being born in the HOPS-312 system in Orion. Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/B. Saxton

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release, Stellar Cartography

Most Close Pairs of Stars Are Born as Cosmic Twins

by Keith CowingApril 25, 2026April 25, 2026

A new study of infant stars in the Perseus and Orion star-forming regions suggests that most close pairs of stars are born as twins in the same disk, rather than […]

Difference IR spectra obtained after UV irradiation of C2H2:NH3 ice mixtures with ratios of (a) 1:0, (b) 1:0.2, (c) 1:0.5, (d) 1:1.4, and (e) 1:2.7 at 10 K for a fluence of 5.7×1017 photon cm−2 . Infrared spectra are offset for clarity. The shaded area marks the absorption features of the parent species (i.e., blue is for C2H2 and red is for NH3) now visible as negative bands. -- astro-ph.GA

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

Formation of N-bearing Complex Organic Molecules in Molecular Clouds: Ketenimine, Acetonitrile, Acetaldimine, and Vinylamine via the UV Photolysis of C2H2 Ice

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2024May 14, 2024

The solid-state C2H2 chemistry in interstellar H2O-rich ice has been proposed to explain astronomically observed complex organic molecules (COMs), including ketene (CH2CO), acetaldehyde (CH3CHO), and ethanol (CH3CH2OH), toward early star-forming […]