COMs in Enceladus

An article in Nature reported the observation of astrophysically complex organic molecules (COMs) in cryo plumes ejected from the interior water ocean of Enceladus, one of Saturn satellites. The composition of the plumes was detected using mass spectrometry during a flyby of the spacecraft Cassini, before it was destroyed in 2017. Most of ice particles ejected from Enceladus are almost pure water, but a 1% is rich in organic molecules, some of them up to 200 amu. These results are the first evidence of complex organics from an extraterrestrial water ocean. The identity of these organic compounds is not clear, but they could contain carbon (C7 to C15), oxygen and eventually nitrogen. A prominent peak was associated to cationic forms of the benzene ring. Enceladus seems the only member of the solar system with a water ocean, an internal energy source and complex organics, apart from our planet.

Picture Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Southwest Research Institute

Aromatics in space

Benzonitrile has been detected in the interstellar medium, as reported in Science. The interest of this aromatic molecule is the possibility of calculating the abundance of benzene from which it was generated, together with the growing interest to indentify the carriers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocycles. The report is introduced by Joblin and Cernicharo in the same issue. An updated list of molecules found in the space can be obtained from the Institut of Physics at the University of Cologne. In the picture below the Green Bank telescope. Related to this, Nature informs that the Arecibo telescope was saved from being dismantled thanks to a mistery funder.