Posted on 03/28/2008 6:11:45 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2008) — Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn have detected for the first time a molecule closely related to an amino acid: amino acetonitrile. The organic molecule was found with a 30 metre radio telescope in Spain and two radio interferometers in France and Australia in the "Large Molecule Heimat", a giant gas cloud near the galactic centre in the constellation Sagittarius (Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press).
Amino acetonitrile. (Credit: Sven Thorwirth, MPIfR)
The "Large Molecule Heimat" is a very dense, hot gas clump within the star forming region Sagittarius B2. In this source of only 0,3 light-year diameter, which is heated by a deeply embedded newly formed star, most of the interstellar molecules known to date have been found, including the most complex ones such as ethyl alcohol, formaldehyde, formic acid, acetic acid, glycol aldehyde (a basic sugar), and ethylene glycol.
Starting from 1965, more than 140 molecular species have been detected in space, in interstellar clouds as well as in circumstellar envelopes. A large fraction of these molecules is organic or carbon-based. A lot of attention is given to the quest for so-called "bio"-molecules, especially interstellar amino acids. Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins and therefore key ingredients for the origin of life, have been found in meteorites on Earth, but not yet in interstellar space.
The simplest amino acid, glycine (NH2CH2COOH), has long been searched for in the interstellar medium but has so far not been unambiguously detected. Since the search for glycine has turned out to be extremely difficult, a chemically related molecule was searched for, amino acetonitrile (NH2CH2CN), probably a direct precursor of glycine.
The scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy in Bonn selected the "Large Molecule Heimat", as the source has been named by experts, and investigated a dense forest of 3700 spectral lines from complex molecules with the IRAM 30-metre telescope in Spain. Atoms and molecules emit light at very specific frequencies, which appear as characteristic lines in the radiation spectrum. By analyzing these spectral lines, astronomers can determine the chemical composition of cosmic clouds. The more complex a molecule is, the more possibilities it has to radiate its internal energy. This is the reason why complex molecules emit many spectral lines, which are very weak and therefore difficult to identify in the "line jungle."
"Still, we were finally able to assign 51 very weak lines to the molecule amino acetonitrile" says Arnaud Belloche, scientist at the Max Planck institute and first author of the research paper. This result was confirmed at 10 times higher spatial resolution with two radio telescope arrays, the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer in France and the Australia Telescope Compact Array. These observations showed that all the candidate lines were emitted from the same position in the "Large Molecule Heimat", "a strong proof of the reliability of our identification."
"Finding amino acetonitrile has greatly extended our insight into the chemistry of dense, hot star-forming regions. I am sure we will be able to identify in the future many new, even more complex organic molecules in the interstellar gas. We already have several candidates!" says Karl Menten, director at the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy and head of the "Millimeter and Submillimeter Astronomy" research group.
Adapted from materials provided by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft.
Space Mynocks chewing on power cables and farting....!
“The “Large Molecule Heimat” is a very dense, hot gas clump within the star forming region Sagittarius B2. In this source of only 0,3 light-year diameter, which is heated by a deeply embedded newly formed star, most of the interstellar molecules known to date have been found, including the most complex ones such as ethyl alcohol, formaldehyde, formic acid, acetic acid, glycol aldehyde (a basic sugar), and ethylene glycol.”
Ethyl Alcohol? So wha have we discovered...an interstellar
kegger party?
Well I guess this proves there is no God.
We are star dust.
it proves that God works in mysterious ways.
It proves God is still out there, making better races than us. ;)
For the record “Heimat” means “Home” or “Homestead” in German. Post-war there was an entire genre of films known as “Heimat Films”. They stood in contrast to the Trümmer Films”. “Trümmer” means “Rubble”
We are a VERY presumptuous race. We have NO idea what type of category life may come in, yet we anticipate that ALL life in the universe HAS to be like us.
What does your reply have to do with space mynocks?
Sad that is what you would take away from this story.
So it's still not an amino acid?
Keep looking boys, and better luck next time.
How does one determine the atomic structure of a molecule that is light years away? I’m being serious here.
I would assume Marlowe is being facetious. I can't imagine anyone with two brain cells to rub together would come to the conclusion there is no God from this story.
The implication is that this news is used to fuel the “See there is no God, life is everywhere” hate campaign the original poster perceives.
It’s as if the original poster is opposed to scientific studies of our universe. Since the logical conclusion, in his/her mind, is that the data would be used to deny the existence of God.
Nothing, I think I meant to reply to the poster. I missed. Sorry to haved caused you confusion.
So, what’s the news?
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