Tracing the Cosmic Origin of Complex Organic Molecules #SpaceSaturday
Scientists at Tokyo University are busy attempting to discover the origins of complex organic molecules (COMs). In astronomy, complex organic molecules are molecules with multiple carbon atoms such as benzene and acetic acid. COMs have been discovered in interstellar space. What happens when scientists trace them? Here’s more from Phys.Org:
Many scientists have reported finding all sorts of COMs in molecular clouds—gigantic regions of interstellar space that contain various types of gases. This is generally done using radio telescopes, which measure and record radiofrequency waves to provide a frequency profile of the incoming radiation called spectrum. Molecules in space are usually rotating in various directions, and they emit or absorb radio waves at very specific frequencies when their rotational speed changes. Current physics and chemistry models allow us to approximate the composition of what a radio telescope is pointed at, via analysis of the intensity of the incoming radiation at these frequencies.
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