UV photolysis Archives

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Impacts Into Titan’s Methane-clathrate Crust As A Source Of Atmospheric Methane

by Keith CowingMarch 27, 2025March 27, 2025

Titan is the only icy satellite in the solar system with a dense atmosphere. This atmosphere is composed primarily of nitrogen with a few percent methane, which supports an active, […]

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 […]