http://truthufo.blogspot.com/: Life can foisonner everywhere in the Universe

Friday, 22 August 2008

Life can foisonner everywhere in the Universe

A team of scientists from the Centre of NASA Ames has demonstrated that the elements of living, according to our conception of life, are very common in the universe so that life can be a bit foisonner everywhere.

The Centre team of NASA Ames has studied the infrared signature of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs in order to model their expected infrared radiation from space as different from those produced on Earth. They used this data to ISO, the space observatory of the European Space Agency (1995-1998).

The Ames team showed that PAHs are indeed responsible for the mysterious infrared radiation that astronomers watched without being able to determine its nature. The space telescope in the infrared Spitzer at NASA has detected the infrared signature of these molecules across the Milky Way, but also in other galaxies close or very distant. But if this discovery is important for astronomers, it is less for astrobiologistes, these scientists who seek life elsewhere than on Earth.

But what is interesting about this discovery is the presence of nitrogen in the structure of these molecules. However, this changes everything. Much of the chemistry of life, including DNA, is based on organic molecules that contain nitrogen. Thus, chlorophyll, the substance that enables photosynthesis in plants is a good example of this class of molecules called polycyclic aromatic compound nitrogen heterocycles (PANHs).

This discovery also reinforces the theory that life comes from space. Indeed, these molecules form in the material ejected by stars at the end of life Of course, these molecules are blown into the interstellar medium by stellar winds and enrich huge clouds of gas and dust inside of which form stars and planetary system. The then newly formed planets are bombarded the residue of their training and enriched with chemical elements present around the star.

This discovery shows that molecules necessary for early stages of life are in abundance throughout the universe and that adventure if they are deposited on a planet which has a hospitable environment for their development, then there is nothing to prevent life emerging.