More Organic Chemicals Found in Space

Scientists associated with NASA’s Spitzer Telescope have discovered polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: “NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has shown complex organic molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are found in every nook and cranny of our galaxy. While this is important to astronomers, it has been of little interest to astrobiologists, scientists who search for life beyond [...]

Comets and Organic Molecules

Deep Impact collision ejected the stuff of life Millions of kilograms of fine dust particles and water and a “surprisingly high” amount of organic molecules sprayed into space when NASA crashed its Deep Impact spacecraft into Comet 9P/Tempel 1 on 4 July 2005, reveal a trio of new studies. The observations bolster theories that comets [...]

Organic Chemicals Found On Titan

From New Scientist Cassini has found complex organic chemicals on Titan. Some complex organic molecules – such as benzene and diacetylene – had already been picked up on an earlier approach to Titan, but the latest encounter has yielded an even wider range. It includes nitriles and scores of different hydrocarbons, some with up to [...]