Prospecting for interstellar oil

We have developed a new method to look for carbon compounds in space, akin to prospecting for oil on Earth. Our method is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

'Space butterfly' is home to hundreds of baby stars

What looks like a red butterfly in space is in reality a nursery for hundreds of baby stars, revealed in this infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Officially named Westerhout 40 (W40), the butterfly is a nebula—a ...

New synthesis method for producing fluorinated piperidines

Synthetic molecules are essential for many products, including medicines, crop protection agents and special materials such as Teflon. These molecules have several components, which can be combined in a variety of ways, resulting ...

Soot forensics: Carbon fingerprints reveal curved nanostructure

Researchers have moved one step closer to reducing air pollution from engines by imaging soot nanoparticles to reveal their unique signatures. The nanoparticle structures are like fingerprints, revealing curved fullerene-like ...

Constraining the chemistry of carbon-chain molecules in space

The interstellar medium of the Milky Way contains 5-10% of the total mass of the galaxy (excluding its dark matter) and consists primarily of hydrogen gas. There are small but important contributions from other gases as well, ...

Molecular striptease explains Buckyballs in space

Scientists from Leiden University have shown in the laboratory how Buckyballs - molecular soccerballs - form in space. The experiments are special, as these are based on a new chemical concept - top-down, from big to small ...

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