Partial Ingredients For DNA And Protein Found Around Star

NASA via ScienceDaily.com ^ | 2005-12-30 | NA

[<1/1,000,000th%]

It's becoming more obvious that the organic precursor molecules to life are created either from CME's, or from the destruction of the stars themselves when they go nova.

Fascinating.

[neverdem]

What is CME besides Continuing Medical Education?

[inquest]

I think he might be referring to Coronal Mass Ejections.

[neverdem]

Thanks for the tip. Happy New Year!

[inquest]

Happy to be of help. Happy New Year back to you.

[Theophilus]

"The gases are very warm, close to or somewhat above the boiling point of water on Earth," said Dr. Adwin Boogert of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. "These high temperatures helped to pinpoint the location of the gases in the disk."

This is close to or somewhat like useful information, like: someone named Chang lives in China! Thank you so much Dr Boogart!!!

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Sorry.

Inquest is correct.

Since the ionized atoms are already present in the corona and on the surface of stars, they could interact chemically once they've left the star and cooled sufficiently.

I haven't seen anyone work out any details yet.

[inquest]

Since the ionized atoms are already present in the corona and on the surface of stars, they could interact chemically once they've left the star and cooled sufficiently.

They're also present in the general solar wind. Do we know how much gets released in CME's versus in the continuous stream of solar wind?

A real interesting question, that the article really only obliquely touches on, is whether what they're looking at is really more or less what our own system would have looked like at a similar age. In other words, was the concentration of these molecules in our system at the time large enough to have registered on a spectrometer located in another star system? If the answer is yes, then it really goes to show how uncommon life in the universe likely is.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

I was focused on the more concentrated material that a star would release, but you're right. There should be some quantity of organic compounds in solar wind. I don't know if this has been measured outside of the PANH measurements. These were more just establishing the presence of PANH's.

Our solar system being relatively new in the universe, it would have been seeded with organic molecules even before our sun formed. The fact that nearly every moon, comet and rock that's been observed has organic compounds on it seems to confirm this.

I suppose you could make an argument that organic compounds could've formed soon after matter precipitated out of the aftermath of the big bang. It would've required some fusion to have occurred to produce the elements. Since the origin of galaxies and their accompanying black holes is still up for grabs, I suppose there's still room for some speculation.

[inquest]

Our solar system being relatively new in the universe, it would have been seeded with organic molecules even before our sun formed.

But we've been looking at even newer systems lately - brand new ones, in fact. Some of them, it's true, are going to be first-generation, formed directly out of primordial gas clouds. But many others are going to be second- or third-generation. Does the fact that we're just now detecting these compounds at another star mean that most stars don't have them in a large enough quantity to support life, or that this particular star in Ophiuchus has an overabundance of them for some reason? I wish the article had given some indication one way or the other.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

There are new systems, but the matter that makes them up has already been seeded with material from the first generation of stars, or whatever, nearly 12 1/2 billion years ago. At least that's the current thinking until someone comes up with a reason to change it.

The reason that these compounds are being detected now is because the technology for detecting them is relatively new and no one really thought to look. Previously thinking was that precursor molecules to life form on planets. Why would anyone look in space?

This is really a new area of research so hopefully there's a lot more news to come.

[ericthecurdog]

Bravo.

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic was posted 12/31/2005. Thanks neverdem.

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[SunkenCiv]

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