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Scientists discover 'chemical starter kit' for life in planetary birthplaces
An important piece in the puzzle of the interstellar chemistry that can lead to planets and life has come to light in several young star systems.
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Methanol, coming as part of the 'chemical starter kit' around young stars, has produced some unexpected surprises that could ultimately reveal some of the conditions in which planets and potentially life form around protostars.
The methanol discoveries were made by astronomers using ALMA (the Atacama Large millimeter/submillimeter Array) in the Atacama Desert in Chile, as part of a project called COMPASS (the Complex Organic Molecules in Protostars with ALMA Spectral Surveys).
"Our work provides insight into the complex chemistry of young star systems and is ultimately an important piece of the puzzle in understanding the origin of life," said University of Bern astrophysicist Maria Drozdovskaya, who leads the COMPASS project, in a statement.
Drozdovskaya's multinational team of more than 30 astronomers has been chasing down complex organic molecules, large molecules that include carbon atoms, in the planetary construction yards around eleven young stars.
These molecules form part of the chemical inventory that ultimately builds planets and, perhaps, even life that will one day live on those planets.
Methanol (CH3OH) is important because it is highly abundant in star- and planet-forming regions. In fact, it’s the most abundant complex organic molecule to be found in interstellar space, and is commonly found in planet-forming disks.
Its sheer abundance means that, of all the molecules found around young stars, methanol is the easiest in which to detect different forms where regular hydrogen atoms are replaced by a heavier isotope of hydrogen called deuterium.
How many molecules contain these heavier isotopes is highly dependent upon the conditions in which planets are forming within the disk.