Witnesses to the stage of planet formation in the solar system

A research-led study from Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC)And Susanna Iglesias GrothFind out there Many prebiotic complex organic molecules In the star-forming region IC 348 of the Perseus Cloud, a small cluster of stars between 2 and 3 million years old and close to the Solar System. Some of these biomolecules are “essential building blocks for more complex molecules like amino acids, which made up the genetic code” of ancient microorganisms and made life on Earth thrive.

The Perseus cloud consists of many young stars With protoplanetary disks in which the physical processes that give rise to planets occur. In recent decades, “There Have Been No Secrets” by Susana Iglesias-Groth, a pioneer in the study and identification of complex hydrocarbons and key molecules for life in interstellar space.

He analyzed fullerenes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, naphthalene, anthracenes, amino acids, glycine, and other prebiotic molecules, using high-resolution spectroscopy and laboratory work to investigate their spectral characteristics. This line of research in astrochemistry reveals the first steps of life in the universe.
When asked about the discovery of these molecules in that region of the Perseus cloud, Iglesias-Groth stated that “the presence of prebiotic molecules ‘in such close interstellar locations, a thousand light-years away,'”It’s a great opportunity to witness what the early stage of formation of our solar system was likebecause, after all, complex organic molecules were formed from a cloud and added to the birth of planets in protoplanetary disks” and “the evolution of carbon and the chemical reactions that could give rise to life.”

He noted, “The interesting thing about Perseus is that it is a small region and has many stars forming with protoplanetary disks, especially in the region of IC348 Where this article has focused is a group of many young stars, although only eight have been studied, where the physical processes that give rise to planets occur. Between two and three million years old, they are a baby compared to our solar system’s 4.5 billion. This primordial stellar cloud that gave rise to these stars gives us a lot of information about the early stages of formation and we want to know if these prebiotic organic carbon molecules formed earlier, when they were in the clouds and before the stars formed, or preferably. ultraviolet radiation from those stars.

Iglesias-Groth pointed out that these particles They were identified in the mid-infrared light of NASA’s Spitzer satellite And in different tools and ranges: “molecules and atoms of hydrogen (H2), oxygen (O2), sulfur (S), nitrogen (N), compounds such as hydroxyl (OH), water (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2 ), ammonia (NH3), as well as more hydrocarbons complex and prebiotic molecules such as hydrogen cyanide (HCN), acetylene (C2H2), diacetylene (C4H2), cyanoacetylene (HC3N), cyanobutadiene (HC5N), ethane (C2H6), hexatrine (C6H2) or benzene (C6H6), We are talking about large particles, some of which exceed 12 atoms. Like gasoline.

next to, The existence of more complex molecules confirmed the key to life. “I was able to identify 25 molecules in this very rich interstellar region and under conditions, according to laboratory studies, chemical reactions to generate amino acids which, when combined, form proteins, the building blocks of life, as well as nucleobases, which are molecules of 20 atoms or more, Including nitrogen, which are the basic units of the genetic code.” I have evidence and I am waiting for confirmation of this with the James Webb Space Telescope, a proposal that has already been submitted to NASA.”

Astrochemistry, Astrophysics and Astrobiology in Star Formation IC 348

Susanna Iglesias-Groth has found an intense interaction between astrophysics, astrophysics, and astrobiology. In the same star-forming region IC 348 of the Perseus cloud, the researcher detected pure carbon particles. fullerene molecules Which contains in its structure the carbon pentagons and hexagons that appear frequently in the major molecules of life. They are also the third stable form of carbon, along with diamond and graphite.

“My thesis published in 2019 was examining the existence of C60 and C70 fullerenes. The important thing is that they are made up of carbon hexagons and pentagons. If one looks at C60 it is like a classic football where in the unions of hexagons and pentagons we have a carbon atom. It has great stability, being resistive Very susceptible to intense radiation fields and even to bombardment with high-energy particles, phenomena that are very present in star-forming regions, and which, however, can refract under certain conditions, although it is difficult.

The researcher noted that these hexagonal and pentagonal shapes “are found in the building blocks of prebiotic molecules.” “There are amino acids like tryptophan (essential for growth, production, and maintenance of proteins, muscles, enzymes, and neurotransmitters) that have these carbon rings, or also many aromatic hydrocarbons like naphthalene, which are six-carbon rings bonded to hydrogen, and that if they combine with other atoms they can form molecules. .