Interstellar molecules as a research area focuses on the detection, identification, and characterization of molecules in the interstellar medium (ISM), and on understanding their formation pathways, destruction processes, and astrochemical evolution. It integrates radio, millimeter, infrared, and UV spectroscopy with theoretical chemistry and reaction-kinetics modeling to constrain physical conditions in molecular clouds, diffuse clouds, and circumstellar envelopes. Research addresses gas-phase and grain-surface chemistry, isotopic fractionation, and the role of UV radiation, cosmic rays, and shocks in driving molecular complexity. This field informs models of star and planet formation, the chemical enrichment of galaxies, and the potential prebiotic inventory delivered to nascent planetary systems.
A discovery involving researchers at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has, for the first time, revealed millisecond pulsations hidden within a powerful cosmic explosion known as a gamma-ray burst (GRB).
Astronomy
Sep 22, 2025
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50
For decades, astrochemists have been looking for sulfur atoms in space and finding surprisingly little of the element that is a key ingredient to life. A new study could point to where it has been hiding.
Astrobiology
Aug 11, 2025
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33
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team of astronomers led by Abubakar Fadul from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) has discovered complex organic molecules—including the first ...
Astrobiology
Jul 24, 2025
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134
Stars don't form out of nothing, but tracking the gas and dust that do eventually form stars is hard. They float around the galaxy at almost absolute zero, emitting essentially no light, and generally making life difficult ...
Astronomy
Jul 14, 2025
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24
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has unlocked the depths of interstellar space with unprecedented clarity, offering humanity a high-resolution window into the cosmos. Harnessing this newfound capability, an international ...
A team of chemists and astronomers have made a discovery in the field of astrochemistry: the identification of cyanocoronene, the largest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) ever detected in space. This molecule, composed ...
Astronomy
Jun 10, 2025
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114
Astronomers have found a rare form of methanol, a type of alcohol, in a planet-forming disk, providing a critical step in understanding how life beyond Earth may form. This result reveals vital details about the chemical ...
Astrobiology
Jun 5, 2025
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33
Many people imagine the space between the stars as an empty, cold infinity. In reality, it is teeming with extraordinary molecules: More than 300 different types have already been discovered. For her Ph.D. thesis, chemist ...
Astronomy
Jun 2, 2025
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11
A new study published in Nature Astronomy, led by Dr. Jie Yu, from the Australian National University, reveals that stars in close binary systems—pairs of stars orbiting each other at close range—can exhibit unexpectedly ...
Astronomy
May 23, 2025
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15
For a while now, there has been a problematic mystery at the heart of the standard cosmological model. Although all observations support the expanding universe model, observations of the early period of the cosmos give a ...
Astronomy
May 16, 2025
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