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| PRI (MPIfR) 07/2011 (1) | Press Release | July 06, 2011 |
Molecules of hydrogen peroxide have been detected for the first time in interstellar space. A team of astronomers from Sweden and Germany made this discovery in the stellar nursery Rho Ophiuichi, 400 light years away.
The discovery gives an extra surprising twist to an already hot issue - how does life's most important molecule, water, form in interstellar space?
For their observations the scientists used the APEX submillimetre telescope, a collaboration of Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy together with Onsala Space Observatory and European Southern Observatory.
Figure 1:
The colourful Rho Ophiuchi star formation region, about 400 light-years from Earth.
Astronomers using the APEX telescope to observe this region discovered hydrogen peroxide molecules in interstellar space for the first time, in the area marked with the red circle.
Rho Ophiuchi itself is the bright star near the top of the image. The bright yellowish star in the bottom left is Antares, one of the brightest stars in the sky. Below and to Antares’ right is the globular cluster Messier 4.
Credit:
ESO/S. Guisard
(Click image for higher resolution).
Hydrogen peroxide (symbol H2O2) is well-known by chemists, cleaning staff and hairdressers for its bleaching properties. Now this whitener and antiseptic has become one of the many familiar molecules discovered in interstellar space.
An international team of astronomers made the discovery with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment telescope (APEX), on the 5100-metre Chajnantor plateau in the Chilean Andes. They observed a region in our galaxy close to the star Rho Ophiuchi, about 400 light-years away. The region contains very cold (around -250 degrees Celsius), dense clouds of cosmic gas and dust, in which new stars are being born. The clouds are mostly made of hydrogen, but contain traces of other chemicals, and are prime targets for astronomers hunting for molecules in space.
Now, the team has found the characteristic signature of light emitted by hydrogen peroxide, coming from part of the Rho Ophiuchi clouds.
"We were really excited to discover the signatures of hydrogen peroxide with APEX. We knew from laboratory experiments which wavelengths to look for, but the amount of hydrogen peroxide in the cloud is just one molecule for every ten billion hydrogen molecules, so the detection required very careful observations," says Per Bergman, astronomer at Onsala Space Observatory in Sweden. Bergman is lead author of the study, which is published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a key molecule for both astronomers and chemists. Its formation is closely linked to two other familiar molecules, oxygen and water, which are critical for life. Because much of the water on our planet is thought to have originally formed in space, scientists are keen to understand how it is created.
Hydrogen peroxide is thought to form in space on the surfaces of cosmic dust grains - very fine particles similar to sand and soot - when hydrogen (H) is added to oxygen molecules (O2). A further reaction of the hydrogen peroxide with more hydrogen is one way to produce water (H2O). This new detection of hydrogen peroxide will therefore help astronomers better understand the formation of water in the Universe.
"We don't understand yet how some of the most important molecules here on Earth are made in space. But our discovery of hydrogen peroxide with APEX seems to be showing us that cosmic dust is the missing ingredient in the process," says Bérengère Parise, head of the Emmy Noether research group on star formation and astrochemistry at Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany, and a co-author of the paper.
To work out just how the origins of these important molecules are intertwined will need more observations of Rho Ophiuchi and other star-forming clouds with future telescopes such as the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) - and help from chemists in laboratories on Earth.
Figure 2:
The
APEX Telescope in Chile at sunset
Credit: Bérengère Parise
(Click image for higher resolution).
The team is composed of P. Bergman (Onsala Space Observatory, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala, Sweden), B. Parise (Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Bonn, Germany), R. Liseau (Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala, Sweden), B. Larsson (Stockholm University, Sweden), H. Olofsson (Onsala Space Observatory, Chalmers University of Technology), K. M. Menten (Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy) and R. Güsten (Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy).
The Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) is a collaboration between Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR), Onsala Space Observatory (OSO), and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) to construct and operate a modified prototype antenna of ALMA (the Atacama Large Millimetre Array) as a single dish on the high altitude site of Llano Chajnantor. The telescope was manufactured by VERTEX Antennentechnik in Duisburg, Germany. Operation of APEX at Chajnantor is entrusted to ESO.
Emmy Noether Programme:
The Emmy Noether Programme of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
supports young researchers in achieving independence at an early stage of their
scientific careers. Young postdocs gain the qualifications required for a university teaching career during a DFG-funded period, usually lasting five years, in
which they lead their own independent junior research group.
Bleichmittel im Weltall, MPG Pressemeldung vom 6. Juli 2011.
Bleach discovered in space, MPG Press Release July 8, 2011 (English version).
Wasserstoffperoxid im Weltraum entdeckt, ESO Science Release 1123, July 06, 2011 (German version).
Hydrogen Peroxide Found in Space, ESO Science Release 1123, July 06, 2011 (English version).
Hydrogen Peroxide Found in Space, Chalmers Press Release, July 06, 2011 (English version).
Väteperoxid upptäckt i rymden,
Chalmers Press Release, July 06, 2011 (Swedish version).
About the APEX telescope (ESO Public Outreach Web page).
Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX).
Max-Planck-Institute für Radioastronomie (MPIfR).
Onsala Space Observatory (OSO).
European Southern Observatory (ESO).
Emmy Noether Group of Bérengère Parise.
Emmy Noether Programme of DFG.
Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A).
Los Cielos de América
(Stéphane Guisard's Photo Web page).
Dr. Bérengère Parise,
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn.
Fon: +49 228 525 153
E-mail: bparise (at)
mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
Dr. Per Bergman,
Onsala Space Observatory, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.
Fon: +46 31 772 5500
E-mail: per.bergman
(at) chalmers.se
Dr. Norbert Junkes,
Public Outreach,
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn.
Fon: +49-228-525-399
E-mail: njunkes (at)
mpifr-bonn.mpg.de