Complex Organic Molecules Discovered in Infant Star System

Complex organic molecules, the building blocks of life, have been discovered in an infant star system for the first time, according to new research.

Thanks to observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope, astronomers have added to growing evidence that the conditions that spawned the Earth and Sun are not unique in the Universe.

The findings were published in the journal Nature.

The discovery came from the protoplanetary disc surrounding the young star MWC 480 [1], which, as it turns out, contains large amounts of methyl cyanide (CH₃CN) - a complex carbon-based molecule. In fact, there is enough methyl cyanide around MWC 480 to fill all of Earth's oceans.

Both this molecule and its simpler cousin, hydrogen cyanide (HCN), were found in the cold outer reaches of the star's newly formed disc, an area that astronomers believe is similar to the Kuiper Belt - the region of icy planetesimals and comets in our own solar system beyond Neptune.

Comets retain a pristine record of the early chemistry of the solar system, from the time when the planets first formed. It is believed that water and organic molecules on Earth today originated from comets and asteroids from the outer solar system, helping set the stage for the development of primordial life.

"Studies of comets and asteroids show that the solar nebula that spawned the Sun and planets was rich in water and complex organic compounds," lead author and astronomer Karin Öberg noted in a news release. "We now have even better evidence that this same chemistry exists elsewhere in the Universe, in regions that could form solar systems not unlike our own."

Interestingly, the molecules found in MWC 480 are also found in similar concentrations in our own solar system's comets. (Scroll to read on...)