A fantastic new discovery has given astronomy an unexpected window into the formation of life-precursor molecules in an environment significantly different from our galaxy, the Milky Way. Scientists ...

The molecules are building blocks of the chemical precursors of things such as RNA. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Frozen ...

Complex organic molecules spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope may hint at how habitable planets form. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Ten years ago, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe pulled up alongside a dusty, icy lump the size of a mountain. The probe would ...

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 ...

Fresh analysis of Cassini data has revealed new complex organic molecules inside ice grains spewing from Enceladus. These discoveries strengthen the case that the moon’s underground ocean hosts ...

Astronomers using ALMA have discovered complex organic molecules, including potential precursors to life's building blocks, in the protoplanetary disc of a young star, V883 Orionis. This finding ...

Astronomers have detected signs of complex organic molecules, the precursors to the building blocks of life as we know it, in a planet-forming disk around a distant star. The findings imply that the ...

This artist’s impression shows the planet-forming disc around the star V883 Orionis. In the outermost part of the disc, volatile gases are frozen out as ice, which contains complex organic molecules.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

Stephen has degrees in science (Physics major) and arts (English Literature and the History and Philosophy of Science), as well as a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication. Stephen has degrees in ...

Frozen complex organic molecules have been discovered for the first time around a young protostar in a galaxy other than our own, thanks to the observing power of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) ...