Solving mysteries of the interstellar medium |

Date:   August  2015
This artist's conception symbolically represents complex organic molecules, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, seen in the early universe. These large molecules, comprised of carbon and hydrogen, are among the building blocks of life. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is the first telescope to see polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocycles so early ... 10 billion years further back in time than seen previously.  

Despite intense research efforts over the last few decades, an assignment of the DIBs has remained elusive, although indications exist that they may arise from the presence of large hydrocarbon molecules in interstellar space. Recent experiments lend novel credibility to this hypothesis.

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Astronomers find dust, PANHs in early Universe |

March 2, 2015
Source: University of Copenhagen - Niels Bohr Institute
Summary: Dust plays an extremely important role in the universe -- both in the formation of planets and new stars. But dust was not there from the beginning and the earliest galaxies had no dust, only gas. Now an international team of astronomers, led by researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute, has discovered a dust-filled galaxy from the very early universe. The discovery demonstrates that galaxies were very quickly enriched with dust particles containing elements such as carbon and oxygen, which could form planets. The results are published in the scientific journal, Nature.                                    
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