Space’s Salty Secrets: Asteroid Holds Clues As to How Earth Got Its Water
The finding of minute salt particles in an asteroid sample retrieved by the Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft suggests that the presence of liquid water might be…
Astrochemistry News
An Ultrafast Glimpse of the Photochemistry of the Atmosphere With Help From Reaction Nanoscopy
Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have explored the initial consequences of the interaction of light with molecules on the surface of nanoscopic aerosols. The…
Lab Experiments Reveal Pathway to Forming Life’s Building Blocks in Space
Scientists have used lab experiments to retrace the chemical steps leading to the creation of complex hydrocarbons in space, showing pathways to forming 2-D carbon-based…
ALMA Discovers Surprisingly Complex Organic Molecules in Nearby Galaxy
The nearby dwarf galaxy known as the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a chemically primitive place. Unlike the Milky Way, this semi-spiral collection of a…
Astrochemists Discover How to Use Methanol to Measure Magnetic Fields in Space
A team of scientists, led by Boy Lankhaar at Chalmers University of Technology, has solved an important puzzle in astrochemistry: how to measure magnetic fields…
Carbon-Rich Stardust Grains Unlock Astrophysical Mysteries
Dust is everywhere — not just in your attic or under your bed, but also in outer space. To astronomers, dust can be a nuisance…
GBT Detects Aromatic Molecule Benzonitrile in the Taurus Molecular Cloud 1
Astronomers had a mystery on their hands. No matter where they looked, from inside the Milky Way to distant galaxies, they observed a puzzling glow…
ALMA Reveals Methanol in the TW Hydrae Protoplanetary Disk
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have discovered the organic molecule methyl alcohol (methanol) in the protoplanetary disk around the star TW Hydrae….
NASA Lab Results Reveal Recipe for Extraterrestrial Vitamin B3
New NASA experiments reveal that vitamin B3 and other complex organic compounds could be made in space and it is plausible that meteorite and comet…
Astronomers Discover Disilicon Carbide in Space
After decades of speculation and searching, astronomers have discovered the important dust-forming molecule Si-C-Si (disilicon carbide) in space. The space between stars is not empty…
Cryogenic Storage Ring Reproduces the Chemical Conditions of Space
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics conducted initial experiments in the Cryogenic Storage Ring. The Cryogenic Storage Ring can reproduce the chemical…
Scientists Reproduce the Building Blocks of Life
Scientists from NASA’s Ames Research Center have demonstrated for the first time that they can make uracil, cytosine, and thymine, all three components of RNA…
Detection of Sugars in Laboratory Simulation of Interstellar Organic Matter
Using multidimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry, researchers have detected 10 aldehydes laboratory samples which were created to simulate material found in interstellar…
Researchers Discover an Efficient Way of Slowing the Rotation of Molecular Ions
An international team of researchers has discovered an efficient and versatile way of slowing the rotation of molecular ions, opening up new possibilities for laboratory-based…
New Technique to Search Space Dust for Molecules Critical for Life
Researchers at Goddard’s Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory have developed a new technique to search space dust for molecules that are critical for life. While the origin…
Quantum Tunneling Allows “Impossible” Chemical Reactions to Occur in Space
A team of scientists from the University of Leeds has discovered that chemical reactions once thought to be ‘impossible’ in the coldness of space can…
Goddard Lab Researchers Study the Chemistry of Cosmic Ice
Goddard’s Cosmic Ice Lab is one of a few laboratories where researchers study the chemistry of cosmic ice, reproducing reactions in ice from almost any…
Researchers Discover an Important Pair of Prebiotic Molecules in Interstellar Space
Scientists using the Green Bank Telescope have discovered a pair of prebiotic molecules in interstellar space, suggesting that some basic chemicals needed for life may…
