Ep 62: not quite a star, not quite a planet, not quite life
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not quite a star, not quite a planet, not quite life
After a somewhat disjointed primer on organic chemistry, we talk about how the radiation of a protostar, bathing the protoplanetary disk, See the previous episode, can create the early chemical building blocks of life. This has happened in laboratory experiments, and the chemicals have been observed around young stars, in the material of comets, and in meteorites. This suggests that the very beginning of what would become life, happened during the very beginning of what would become our solar system, while we were not quite a star, not quite a planet and not quite life.
Here are a couple of articles about the laboratory experiments.
Amino Acids and Their Production during the Photolysis of Astrophysically relevant Ices
‘Building blocks for life’ may originate in space
Here are a couple of articles about sugar, detected in space!
Sugar Found In Space: A Sign of Life?
Space Sugar Discovered Around Sun-Like Star
Here’s an article on when a space craft examined material from a comet, discovering amino acids.
Building Blocks of Life Found in Comet’s Atmosphere
Burning through the atmosphere can get warm enough, but here’s an article that describes a meteorite that was heated much more, before it wiazed through the air and hit the surface of Earth. And yet, it still brought amino acids along for the ride.