The European Southern Observatory (ESO) announced that observations by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submilimeter Array (ALMA) have detected methyl cyanide and hydrogen cyanide in the protoplanetary disk around the young star MW480.
From the ESO press release:
For the first time, astronomers have detected the presence of complex organic molecules, the building blocks of life, in a protoplanetary disc surrounding a young star. The discovery, made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), reaffirms that the conditions that spawned the Earth and Sun are not unique in the Universe. The results are published in the 9 April 2015 issue of the journal Nature.
The new ALMA observations reveal that the protoplanetary disc surrounding the young star MWC 480 contains large amounts of methyl cyanide (CH3CN), a complex carbon-based molecule. 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, in a region that astronomers believe is analogous to the Kuiper Belt — the realm of icy planetesimals and comets in our own Solar System beyond Neptune.
The paper [Full] provides more details about this discovery, for example: "The presence of cyanides in comets, including 0.01% of methyl cyanide (CH3CN) with respect to water, is of special interest because of the importance of C-N bonds for abiotic amino acid synthesis."
(Score: 3, Informative) by NotSanguine on Friday April 10 2015, @06:42AM
If Klaatu shows up on "The O'Reilly Factor,"
Considering O'Reilly's understanding of technology and the internet, I would certainly not wish that interview on Klaatu. I'm sure he would take it in stride though, he seems like a patient guy.
The truth is, I didn't mean Klaatu [wikipedia.org] I meant Klaatu [wikipedia.org].
"There are ten of us. All of family Klaatu. Each one named Klaatu. Slight difference in how you pronounce. Klaa-too, Klaa-too, Klaa-too. You are seeing now?"
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr