Posted on 10/26/2011 11:05:29 AM PDT by decimon
In today's issue of the journal Nature, astronomers report that organic compounds of unexpected complexity exist throughout the Universe. The results suggest that complex organic compounds are not the sole domain of life but can be made naturally by stars.
Prof. Sun Kwok and Dr. Yong Zhang of the University of Hong Kong show that an organic substance commonly found throughout the Universe contains a mixture of aromatic (ring-like) and aliphatic (chain-like) components. The compounds are so complex that their chemical structures resemble those of coal and petroleum. Since coal and oil are remnants of ancient life, this type of organic matter was thought to arise only from living organisms. The team's discovery suggests that complex organic compounds can be synthesized in space even when no life forms are present.
The researchers investigated an unsolved phenomenon: a set of infrared emissions detected in stars, interstellar space, and galaxies. These spectral signatures are known as "Unidentified Infrared Emission features". For over two decades, the most commonly accepted theory on the origin of these signatures has been that they come from simple organic molecules made of carbon and hydrogen atoms, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules. From observations taken by the Infrared Space Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope, Kwok and Zhang showed that the astronomical spectra have features that cannot be explained by PAH molecules. Instead, the team proposes that the substances generating these infrared emissions have chemical structures that are much more complex. By analyzing spectra of star dust formed in exploding stars called novae, they show that stars are making these complex organic compounds on extremely short time scales of weeks.
(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...
More things in heaven and earth ping.
The universe eh, why not start small and just say our galaxy.
Coal and petroleum are NOT from ancient life.
That's the theory for almost 200 years, but it may be incorrect. The Ruskis have a theory about abiotic oil. It seems valid.
And last I heard, Titan (moon of Saturn) had hydrocarbon lakes, and was sadly lacking in dinosaurs.
/johnny
As if we didn’t have enough Petroleum on our planet to justify dumping the whole “green energy” scam, now we find that we could just toodle around the galaxy collecting what we need.
I bet the MMGW nutsos knew about this too. There is oil everywhere we look. Oceans, deserts, icefields and now in space. We should have somebody check the moon. We could do a pipeline from the moon to Al Gore’s house. Then there might be enough oil to produce energy for the rest of us pleebs.
(Sarcasm/Cynicism/facetiousism)
I know that there is ethanol in interstellar space, pointing to the essentially spiritual nature of existence.
That is actually debatable, and this article is further proof that it is not necessarily true.
"Peak oil" zealots are deeply saddened.
What's that? PETROLEUM isn't a result of ancient life? but can be produced by normal non organic processes???? Hmmm... funny, I've been saying that for years... explains why old "dry" oil wells, have been found to refill themselves... Sort of puts the question to the statement oil is a finite resource.
“We could do a pipeline from the moon to Al Gore’s house.”
Gore sucks pretty hard now...I’m not sure we’d need a pipeline.
Methane is a an extremely common compound and it was around when earth coalesced. As the methane trapped in the mantle escapes and rises through the crust it collects under pressure and the heat + pressure compresses it into heavier hydrocarbons.
This is abiotic theory in a nutshell.
Not so sure about that - maybe coal, but probably not oil.
Just think for a minute the massive quantities of organic matter required for pools of oil MILES deep - I'm not buyin' it.
They concluded that it is definitely female.
Let’s just hope it’s not too complex.
This kind of blanket statement is almost as annoying as the usual "Human induced Climate Change is going to kill us all" tripe. Organic compounds are being found to be fairly common throughout our solar system (and now the universe beyond), and the amount of coal and oil on our little planet seems far greater than plankton, dinosaurs, and fern swamps can account for. It's time to drop the word "fossil" when describing fuel.
This is great news for the abiotic theory of oil generation. If the stars can create petroleum, why can’t the earth. The theory that oil can only come from millions of years of decayed biomass seems to be weakening with time. Of course even if we learn that oil is abiotic, it does not mean it replenishes quickly in the earth. But still great news for us gas hogs.
bflr
so y arnt we goin thr 4 r feeul
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