We may not be alone, after all

Our solar system may not be unique after all. NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered gases which precede the formation of DNA and protein in the dust swirling around a young star which is located at a distance of 375 light-years. “This discovery is exciting since it is the first time that these building blocks of more complex molecules have been found near a star which is similar to the Sun,” said Fred Lahuis of Leiden Observatory and the Dutch Space Research Institute while speaking to DNA.  Dr Lahuis is the lead author of a forthcoming paper on this discovery in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Talking about this sensational discovery Dr Lahuis said that the star ‘IRS 46’ in the constellation Ophiuchus could very well be what Sun was billions of years ago.”

“We found acetylene and hydrogen cyanide in gaseous form in the enriched area of the star disc where rocky planets such as Earth are thought to be born,” Lahuis added.

“Also the discovery of acetylene and hydrogen cyanide is fascinating because hydrogen cyanide and acetylene combine to form amino acids which are the fundamental blocks of organisms.”

As a part of Spitzer Space Telescope’s Legacy programme, astronomers map large areas of star formations. It was when Dr Lahuis and his colleagues were probing the star’s disk that they found large amounts of acetylene and hydrogen cyanide.

“The discovery was unique because we didn’t find the same in any of the other stars we have been studying.”

Organic gases like the ones found near IRS 46 are found in our solar system and on the surface of comet. Their presence has been observed near massive stars which are 10,000 times heavier than the Sun. “However the chances of these massive stars forming life-bearing planets is extremely low,” Dr Lahuis said.

This discovery is important from astrophysics point of view as well. “This has provided us a unique opportunity of studying the development of the gaseous disc that lays at star’s periphery.”

What is the Spitzer space telescope all about?

• Spitzer Space Telescope is named after the astronomer Lyman Spitzer Jr, and was launched into space in August 2003.
• The largest infrared telescope ever launched into space, Spitzer obtains images by detecting the energy, or heat, radiated by objects in the infrared wavelengths.
• Its highly sensitive instruments provide a view of the universe which the optical telescopes cannot see. Spitzer gives a unique view into the regions of star formation, the centres of galaxies, and into newly forming planetary systems.
• The time frame of the US$670 million Spitzer mission is around 30 months.
• Spitzer is the last of NASA’s Great Observatories Programme — a family of four orbiting observatories, each viewing the Universe in wavelengths of light (visible, gamma rays, X-rays, and infrared).
• Hubble Space Telescope, Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory are the others.