Using infrared spectral data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias astronomer has detected the aromatic amino acid tryptophan in the interstellar gas of the young star cluster IC 348. This could be an indication that the molecule is widespread in interstellar space.
IC 348 is a star cluster approximately 1,000 light-years away in the northern constellation of Perseus.
Also known as Collinder 41, Gingrich 1 and Theia 17, it contains nearly 400 stars and is around 2 million years old.
IC 348 is part of the larger Perseus molecular cloud, which is generally invisible to the naked eye, but shines brightly when viewed in infrared wavelengths.
“Tryptophan is one of the 20 amino acids essential for the formation of key proteins for life on Earth, and produces one of the richest pattern of spectral lines in the infrared,” said Dr. Susana Iglesias-Groth, an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.
“It was therefore an obvious candidate to be explored using the extensive spectroscopic database of the Spitzer satellite, a space-based infrared telescope.”
The analysis of the infrared light emitted from IC 348 revealed 20 emission lines of tryptophan. The temperature of the tryptophan is about 280 K (7 degrees Celsius, 45 degrees Fahrenheit).
The study suggests that the emission lines associated with tryptophan may also be present in other star-forming regions and that their presence is common in the gas and dust from which stars and planets form.
Amino acids are commonly found in meteorites and were present during the formation of our Solar System.
The work could indicate that these protein-building agents — that are key to the development of life — exist naturally in the regions where stars and planetary systems form, and may contribute to the early chemistry of planetary systems around other stars.
“The evidence for tryptophan in the Perseus molecular cloud should encourage additional effort to…
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