Astronomers have detected precursors to the building blocks of life on the discs of V883 Orionis, a young star located 1,305 light-years from Earth in the constellation Orion.
Scientists writing in The Astrophysical Journal Letters warn that the evidence collected so far is tentative. However, if confirmed, the discovery implies that the necessary ingredients for life could be far more widespread than previously thought.
The Building Blocks of Life
Complex organic molecules (COM) are those that contain six or more atoms, one or more of which must be carbon. Amino acids and nucleic acids — considered to be two of life’s building blocks — are examples. So are their precursors.
Astronomers have detected COMS in several environments, including those involved in planet and star formation. In fact, discoveries of these COMS in the interstellar medium (the material that exists between stars) are “increasingly common”, the authors of the paper reported. What is less certain is how many remain past the star formation stage and into the planet formation stage. In short, do protoplanetary systems inherit complex organic material or do they produce their own?
Now, astronomers have discovered 17 COMS in the planet-forming disc surrounding V883 Orionis. The team is particularly excited about two molecules: ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile, both important precursors to nucleic acids. The latter, glycolonitrile, is also a precursor to the nucleobase adenine and amino acids glycine and alanine.
According to the researchers, the amount of time it would take for complex organic materials like these to have formed on V883 Orionis’ planet-forming disc in detectable amounts suggests there is at least a degree of continuity between the star formation and planet formation stage, with some COMS already present when planets are first formed.
“Nascent planets in such environments may inherit essential building blocks for life, enhancing their potential habitability,” the authors wrote.
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Not Restricted to Planetary Systems
The team, based at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), were able to identify “tentative” evidence for the presence of COMS such as ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile due to the radio frequencies the molecules emit. These signals, though faint, were collected by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
If supported by additional research, these findings reject previous theories that argue the violent transformation of a protostar into a young star destroys the complex organic molecules that have accumulated up until that point — essentially hitting the “reset” button. Were that the case, any substances required for life would have to be reproduced during the planet formation stage.
Instead, “Our finding points to a straight line of chemical enrichment and increasing complexity between interstellar clouds and fully evolved planetary systems,” lead author Abubakar Fadul explained in a press release.
If true, it may mean the conditions required for life are not restricted to individual planetary systems but are more extensive than previously thought. However, more research is needed to confirm the presence of ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile in V883 Orionis’ planet-forming disc and determine if more complex substances are present.
“While this result is exciting, we still haven’t disentangled all the signatures we found in our spectra,” co-author Schwarz said in a press release. “Higher resolution data will confirm the detections of ethylene glycol and glycolonitril and maybe even reveal more complex chemicals we simply haven’t identified yet.”
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Rosie McCall is a freelance writer living in London. She has covered science and health topics for publications, including IFLScience, Newsweek, and Health.
