Scientists from the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands and the Polytechnic University of Cartagena have discovered the presence of a large number of molecules important for the emergence of life in the star forming region IC348 of the Perseus molecular cloud. It is 2-3 million years old. This is reported in an article published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).

The Perseus Cloud is one of the closest star forming regions to the Solar System and is located 850 light-years from Earth. Most of their stars have protoplanetary disks where planets can form. In 2019, fullerenes, closed polyhedra composed of coordinated carbon atoms, were discovered in this area.

In a new study, scientists discovered several carbons in the interior of the Hero cloud, along with molecules such as molecular hydrogen (H2), hydroxyl (OH), water (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and ammonia (NH3). – contains molecules that can play an important role in the production of more complex hydrocarbons and prebiotic molecules: hydrogen cyanide (HCN), acetylene (C2H2), diacetylene (C4H2), cyanoacetylene (HC3N), cyanobutadiene (HC5N), ethane (C2H6C6) .

More complex molecules such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and C60 and C70 fullerenes have also been identified. Their presence suggests that more complex organic matter formation may occur on younger planets. Source