Astrochemistry
The latest chemistry news and research on astrochemistry, including interstellar medium and stellar chemistry, from the Royal Society of Chemistry's magazine, Chemistry World
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FeatureHow RNA reveals clues to life’s origins on Earth
The discovery of catalytic RNA transformed our understanding of life’s beginnings. Clare Sansom explores how the RNA world hypothesis bridges the gap between non-living chemistry and the first cells
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ResearchThree nitrile molecules identified as fresh targets for life-hunting astronomers
Experiments at interstellar temperatures yield new chemical clues to the molecules that seed biology
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FeatureThe JWST reveals the molecular origins of planetary systems
The world’s most expensive infrared spectrometer – the James Webb Space Telescope – is unearthing extraordinary exoplanet chemistry. James Mitchell Crow looks to the skies
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ResearchChemical reaction almost as old as the universe was faster than thought
New modelling and experimental work solves mystery of primordial chemistry
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ResearchStrange tetra-alcohol synthesised in simulated interstellar ice
After finding ‘impossible molecule’ methanetriol, team reaches ‘the final frontier’ and detects methanetetrol after 100 years
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FeatureThe young female astronomer who worked out what the sun is made of
100 years ago, Cecilia Payne deduced that the sun is mainly made of hydrogen – but was encouraged to downplay her findings by her PhD supervisor. Mike Sutton takes up the story
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ResearchLargest aromatic molecule found in deep space is double the size of previous record holder
Cyanocoronene found in an interstellar nursery
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ResearchFullerenes help explain why there’s so much molecular hydrogen in space
The famous carbon allotrope can catalyse the formation of hydrogen molecules in cold interstellar environments
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ResearchSimulations suggest why highly unsaturated molecules are so abundant in the interstellar medium
Shocks, cosmic rays and x-rays seem to ionise and fragment saturated molecules via mechanisms that result in structures with the highest possible number of π bonds
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ResearchLow-energy electrons in cosmic ice spring surprise by generating prebiotic molecules
Electrons play a far more significant role than photons in creating molecules that might have kick-started life on Earth
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ResearchInterstellar cloud conditions yield ‘impossible molecule’
Discovery of rule-breaking compound hypothesised to exist for decades ‘pushes the boundaries of our understandings of chemistry’
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FeatureThe surprising organic chemistry in interstellar space
Even in the bleak wastelands of interstellar space complex organic molecules seem to find a way to form. Anna Demming finds out how
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OpinionAtmospheres conducive to life
Researchers propose a new biosignature that could hint at habitable exoplanets
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ResearchSuperheavy elements forged in giant stellar collisions
Nuclei with mass numbers above 260 are produced in r -process events
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ResearchInterstellar ices could have been the nursery for building blocks of life
Modelling conditions thought to exist between the stars led to formation of amino acid precursors
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ResearchCrystal analysis pushes the moon’s age back 40 million years
Samples retrieved by Apollo astronauts show that the moon formed 4.46 billion years ago
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WebinarAstronomical spectroscopy: understanding the complex chemistry hidden between the stars
Find out how scientists are resolving the chemistry of the gaps between the stars and planets
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OpinionCan life exist outside of the habitable zone?
Speculation about conditions on Venus raises questions about our existing definitions
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ResearchAromatic molecules in a galaxy far, far away
JWST IR observations suggest star formation was rapid and uneven in early galaxy
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OpinionReturning to the moon
It’s been a while, but space agencies are starting to plan their trips back to our satellite, with the goal of building semi-permanent bases