Organic Molecules tagged posts

Scientists from Japan and the USA have confirmed the presence in meteorites of a key organic molecule which may have been used to build other organic molecules, including some used by life. The discovery validates theories of the formation of organic compounds in extraterrestrial environments.

The chemistry of life runs on organic compounds, molecules containing carbon and hydrogen, which also may include oxygen, nitrogen and other elements. While commonly associated with life, organic molecules also can be created by non-biological processes and are not necessarily indicators of life...

Astronomers using ALMA have detected various complex organic molecules around the young star V883 Ori. A sudden outburst from this star is releasing molecules from the icy compounds in the planet forming disk. The chemical composition of the disk is similar to that of comets in the modern Solar System. Sensitive ALMA observations enable astronomers to reconstruct the evolution of organic molecules from the birth of the Solar System to the objects we see today.

The research team led by Jeong-Eun Lee (Kyung Hee University, Korea) used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to detect complex organic molec...

Low-energy electron impact mediates the creation of new complex organic molecules, such as ethanol, in astrophysical/planetary model ices containing methane and oxygen; while some of the new species desorb as ions, many remain in the surface ices. Credit: The photo of Jupiter’s moon Europa, inserted for the Platinum (Pt) substrate (bottom of the graphic), is credited to NASA.

Where do the molecules required for life originate? A new study shows that a number of small organic molecules can form in a cold, spacelike environment full of radiation. Investigators at the University of Sherbrooke in Canada have created simulated space environments in which thin films of ice containing methane and oxygen are irradiated by electron beams...

1. Left: The surface of Rosetta’s comet. As the comet approaches the Sun, frozen gases evaporate from below the surface, dragging tiny particles of dust along with them. Right: These dust grains can be captured and examined using the COSIMA instrument. Targets such as this one measuring only a few centimeters act as dust collectors. They retain dust particles of up to 100 microns in size. 2. Left: Overview of the chemical elements that make up Rosetta’s comet. Right: Average mass distribution of organic and mineral substances in Rosetta’s comet.

The dust that comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko emits into space consists to about one half of organic molecules. The dust belongs to the most pristine and carbon-rich material known in our solar system and has hardly changed since its birth...