organic molecules
Organic Chemistry: Why study it? What can it teach us about finding life beyond Earth?
Universe Today has recently had the privilege of investigating a myriad of scientific disciplines, including impact craters, planetary surfaces, exoplanets, astrobiology, solar physics, comets, planetary atmospheres, planetary geophysics, cosmochemistry, meteorites,…
A Single Grain of Ice Could Hold Evidence of Life on Europa and Enceladus
The Solar System's icy ocean moons are primary targets in our search for life. Missions to Europa and Enceladus will…
Europe Has Big Plans for Saturn’s Moon Enceladus
Saturn's moon, Enceladus, is a gleaming beacon that captivates our intellectual curiosity. Its clean, icy surface makes it one of…
How Did Life Get Started on Earth? Atmospheric Haze Might Have Been the Key
A recent study accepted to The Planetary Science Journal investigates how the organic hazes that existed on Earth between the…
A Hypervelocity Experiment Mimics the Surface Conditions of Ceres
It might be oxymoronic to say that the more we find out about something, the more mysterious it becomes. But…
Perseverance Finds a Wealth of Organic Materials on Mars
The search for life on Mars has been a long a confusing one. Inconclusive experiments abound, but one thing is…
Venus has Clouds of Concentrated Sulfuric Acid, but Life Could Still Survive
A new study has found that some of the building blocks of organic molecules could survive in Venus clouds, suggesting…
JWST Sees Organic Molecules Ludicrously Far Away
When astronomers used the JWST to look at a galaxy more than 12 billion light years away, they were also…
Asteroid Ryugu Contains Niacin (aka Vitamin B3)
In December 2020, JAXA’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft delivered a pristine sample of otherworldly dust and rock from asteroid Ryugu to Earth.…
The Raw Materials for Life Form Early on in Stellar Nurseries
Life doesn't appear from nothing. Its origins are wrapped up in the same long, arduous process that creates the elements,…