Molecules that could become sugars and amino acids have been spotted in the swirling dust and gas around a young star for the first time. This discovery hints at how life might begin in space, long before planets are formed.
Astrochemist Kamber Schwarz from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy explains, “Our results suggest that these disks inherit complex molecules from earlier stages. They continue to form even during the protoplanetary disk phase.”
Stars and their planets originate from dense clouds of cold gas and dust. When a gas clump gets heavy enough, it collapses under its own gravity, creating a spinning mass. As material falls in, it forms a disk around the new star, providing the ingredients for future planets.
Interestingly, while many think that intense activity from a young star destroys biomolecules, recent findings from the protoplanetary disk of a star named V883 Orionis, located about 1,350 light-years away, challenge that view. A team using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) found at least 17 complex organic molecules here, including ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile. These are crucial for forming important biological components like sugars and amino acids.
Fadul, who led the research, states, “Our finding points to a straight line of chemical enrichment between interstellar clouds and fully evolved planetary systems.” This suggests a fascinating evolutionary connection in the chemistry of the universe.
The cold conditions in these molecular clouds allow for the formation of these molecules on icy grains. As the star heats up, these ice grains release their trapped molecules, which are then detectable by ALMA.
Despite the breakthrough, researchers admit that they’ve only scratched the surface. The signals detected were faint, indicating the need for closer observations to confirm and discover even more molecules. They are especially interested in finding nitrogen-containing molecules that appeared low in the data.
As Fadul mentions, a deeper look into different wavelengths might reveal even more intricate molecules. Each discovery adds to our understanding of how the building blocks of life might emerge in the cosmos.
For more on this topic, see the study published in The Astronomical Journal here.
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