Scientists have found alcohol in the orbits of young stars, shedding light on the origins of life on Earth.
Methanol (methyl alcohol) and its isotopes were identified in the gases surrounding the star HD 100453, located about 330 light years from Earth. This marks the first time that researchers have detected methanol isotopes in a young star disk like HD 100453. Astrophysics Letter.
Methanol is an essential component of organic compounds, such as amino acids, crucial for the emergence of life. Researchers had previously identified detected methanol; however, its isotopes are not uncommon in other star-forming discs.
“The discovery of these methanol isotopes provides crucial insights into the history of the elements necessary for life on Earth,” stated the research authors. Alice Booth, a researcher at Harvard University and the Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, commented in a statement.
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Many young stars are surrounded by swirling discs of gas and dust, known as protoplanetary discs, which provide the raw materials for forming planets, moons, and comets.
The research team utilized the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (Alma) in Chile. Alma allows for the mapping of the chemical composition and distribution of gases in relatively nearby protoplanetary discs.
HD 100453 has a mass approximately 1.6 times that of our sun. This indicates that methanol and other molecules in the disc are found as gases at greater distances from the central star compared to the early solar system conditions. According to the statement, smaller stars possess cooler disks, resulting in many molecules being frozen like ice and undetectable by Alma.
In the disc of HD 100453, researchers found that the ratio of methanol to other organic molecules resembles that of a comet within our solar system. These findings imply that ice in the protoplanetary disc might eventually come together to form comets rich in complex organic molecules, which could be delivered to planets via collisions.
“This study supports the theory that comets may have significantly contributed to the delivery of essential organic materials to our planet billions of years ago,” stated study co-author Milou Temmink, a doctoral candidate studying protoplanetary discs at Leiden University in the Netherlands, in a statement. “They may be key to why life, including us, began here.”
Source: www.livescience.com