Are We Alone?

“Are We Alone?” Whether or not life exists beyond the Earth has been long a standing debate in the history of science. A Spanish and a French astrophysicist may hold the answer to this problem. Muñoz and his French colleague Emmanuel Dartois, from the Institute of Space Astrophysics in Paris (France), have identified a band in the infrared range that serves to track the presence of organic material rich in oxygen and nitrogen in the interstellar dust grains.

By mixing various gases at very low pressure and temperature, Muñoz and Emmanuel Dartois simulated the atmospheric conditions found in the interstellar medium. Through a process known as UV-irradiation, they generated an organic material know as “yellow stuff.” This organic residue consists of mainly carboxylic acids, glycine and amino acids. Amino acids are essential to the composition of proteins.

According to Guillermo Muñoz, “An organic material of prebiotic interest known as yellow stuff possesses a very characteristic absorption band that can be searched for in zones in space.” This makes it possible to detect this band in interstellar regions composed of amino acids and other organic molecules, which are the precursors to life. Currently, there are no accounts of such observations.

The Rosetta space probe belonging to the European Space Agency will try to detect aminoacids and other molecules of prebiotic interest in the central core of the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, when the probe arrives there in 2014.

Posted by Saad Choudhry (7)

Update (April 3, 2009):

“I do wonder why they are testing inside of a comet, rather than another area.” The scientists, from the Institute of Space Astrophysics in Paris (France), have been testing in interstellar space and solar system bodies; however, they have yet to observe the “yellow stuff” infrared band. According to Guillermo Muñoz, “yellow stuff” maintains a high content of heavy isotopes. The Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko contains carbon associated with heavy hydrogen isotopes. Therefore, the Rosetta space probe belonging to the European Space Agency will try to detect amino acids and other molecules of prebiotic interest in the central core of the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. On a personal note: I do not believe that other life forms exist in the universe other than those found on Earth. However, I believe that organic molecules, such as carboxylic acids, glycine and other amino acids, which are the precursors to life, do exist outside the boundaries of earth.