Astronomers recently spotted signs of dimethyl ether-an organic molecule commonly seen in star-forming clouds, in the dust trap of the IRS 48 star.
- They made this discovery using instruments from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) at the European Southern Observatory in Chile.
Importance of discovery
- The discovery of dimethyl ether suggests that many other complex molecules that are commonly detected in star-forming regions may also be lurking on icy structures in planet-forming disks.
- These findings not only reveal the largest molecule ever detected in a planet-forming disk, but could teach us entirely new lessons on the origins of life itself.
- IRS 48 is an A0-type star located approximately 445 light-years away in the constellation of Ophiuchus. The star has been the subject of numerous studies because its protoplanetary disk contains an asymmetric, cashew-nut-shaped dust trap.
- This region retains large numbers of mm-sized dust grains that can come together and grow into km-sized objects like comets, asteroids and potentially even planets.
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