Download Ingredients of Life found in distant galaxy, Arecibo astronomer

Ingredients of Life found in Distant Galaxy, Arecibo astronomers announce.
Astronomers from Arecibo Observatory announced at a meeting in Washington,
D.C. Today that they had found two of the basic ingredients of life in the distant galaxy
Arp 220.
The team used the world’s largest telescope, the 305-m diameter radio dish at Arecibo,
to observe Arp 220 across a wide frequency band. “We didn’t know what we were going
to find – we just started looking, and what we found was incredibly exciting!” said Tapasi
Ghosh, one of the astronomical team.
The galaxy in question is at a distance of 250 million light years from Earth, and was
chosen for the search because it is known to be forming massive new stars at a
remarkably high rate, marking it out as the product of a merger of two previously
separate galaxies. “We know from our own Milky Way Galaxy that the birth of massive
stars is linked to the formation of many exotic molecules, making this a good place to
look,” explained team member Chris Salter.
Among other molecules revealed by the survey, were Methanamine and Hydrogen
Cyanide. Mayra Lebron, one of the team, explained, “These are two of the basic
ingredients of life as they can combine with interstellar water molecules to form Glycine,
the simplest Amino Acid.”
Astronomers from the U.S. And overseas are meeting in Washington, D.C. to discuss the
future of Arecibo Observatory, which is threatened by a budgetary crunch at the National
Science Foundation (NSF). They will be presenting ideas for future science initiatives
with the telescope and talking about ways to keep it operating beyond 2011. This is the
date when the NSF will be withdrawing half of its current funding should matching
funds be found from other sources or recommending closure should matching funds not
be forthcoming. “This discovery concerning Arp 220 really highlights the sort of science
Arecibo can do and why we are determined to find a way of saving this place,” said Bob
Kerr, director of the Observatory.
The members of the Arecibo team who made the discovery are Chris Salter, Tapasi
Ghosh, Barbara Catinella, Mayra Lebron, Mikael Lerner, Robert Minchin and Emmanuel
Momjian.