View source for Chemistry:Cosmochemistry

{{Short description|Study of the chemical composition of matter in the universe}}
[[File:MET00506.jpg|thumb|Meteorites are often studied as part of cosmochemistry.]]

'''Cosmochemistry''' ({{etymology|grc|''{{wiktgrc|κόσμος}}'' ({{grc-transl|κόσμος}})|universe||''{{wiktgrc|χημεία}}'' ({{grc-transl|χημεία}})|chemistry}}) or '''chemical cosmology''' is the study of the chemical composition of matter in the [[Astronomy:Universe|universe]] and the processes that led to those compositions.<ref name=McSween>{{cite book|last1=McSween|first1=Harry|title=Cosmochemistry|date=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-87862-3|last2=Huss |first2=Gary|edition=1st}}</ref> This is done primarily through the study of the chemical composition of [[Astronomy:Meteorite|meteorite]]s and other physical samples. Given that the [[Astronomy:Asteroid|asteroid]] parent bodies of meteorites were some of the first solid material to condense from the early [[Astronomy:Nebular hypothesis|solar nebula]], cosmochemists are generally, but not exclusively, concerned with the objects contained within the [[Astronomy:Solar System|Solar System]].

==History==
In 1938, Swiss mineralogist Victor Goldschmidt and his colleagues compiled a list of what they called "cosmic abundances" based on their analysis of several terrestrial and meteorite samples.<ref name=Goldschmidt>{{cite book|last=Goldschmidt|first=Victor|title=Geochemische Verteilungsgestze der Elemente IX|date=1938|publisher=Skrifter Utgitt av Det Norske Vidensk. Akad|location=Oslo}}</ref>  Goldschmidt justified the inclusion of meteorite composition data into his table by claiming that terrestrial rocks were subjected to a significant amount of chemical change due to the inherent processes of the Earth and the atmosphere. This meant that studying terrestrial rocks exclusively would not yield an accurate overall picture of the chemical composition of the cosmos. Therefore, Goldschmidt concluded that extraterrestrial material must also be included to produce more accurate and robust data. This research is considered to be the foundation of modern cosmochemistry.<ref name=McSween/>

During the 1950s and 1960s, cosmochemistry became more accepted as a science. [[Biography:Harold Urey|Harold Urey]], widely considered to be one of the fathers of cosmochemistry,<ref name=McSween/> engaged in research that eventually led to an understanding of the origin of the elements and the chemical abundance of stars. In 1956, Urey and his colleague, German scientist Hans Suess, published the first table of cosmic abundances to include isotopes based on meteorite analysis.<ref name=Suess>{{cite journal|last=Suess|first=Hans|author2=Urey, Harold|title=Abundances of the Elements|journal=Reviews of Modern Physics|date=1956|volume=28|issue=1|pages=53–74|bibcode = 1956RvMP...28...53S |doi = 10.1103/RevModPhys.28.53 }}</ref>

The continued refinement of analytical instrumentation throughout the 1960s, especially that of [[Physics:Mass spectrometry|mass spectrometry]], allowed cosmochemists to perform detailed analyses of the isotopic abundances of elements within meteorites. in 1960, [[Biography:John Reynolds (physicist)|John Reynolds]] determined, through the analysis of short-lived nuclides within meteorites, that the elements of the Solar System were formed before the Solar System itself<ref name=Reynolds>{{cite journal|last=Reynolds|first=John|title=Isotopic Composition of Primordial Xenon|journal=Physical Review Letters|date=April 1960|volume=4|issue=7|pages=351–354|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.4.351|bibcode = 1960PhRvL...4..351R }}</ref> which began to establish a timeline of the processes of the early Solar System.

==Meteorites==
[[Astronomy:Meteorite|Meteorite]]s are one of the most important tools that cosmochemists have for studying the chemical nature of the Solar System. Many meteorites come from material that is as old as the Solar System itself, and thus provide scientists with a record from the early solar nebula.<ref name=McSween/> Carbonaceous chondrites are especially primitive; that is they have retained many of their chemical properties since their formation 4.56 billion years ago,<ref name=McSween2>{{cite journal| last=McSween| first=Harry| title=Are Carbonaceous Chondrites Primitive or Processed? A Review| journal=Reviews of Geophysics and Space Physics|date=August 1979| volume=17| issue=5| pages=1059–1078| doi=10.1029/RG017i005p01059 |bibcode = 1979RvGSP..17.1059M }}</ref> and are therefore a major focus of cosmochemical investigations.

The most primitive meteorites also contain a small amount of material (< 0.1%) which is now recognized to be presolar grains that are older than the Solar System itself, and which are derived directly from the remnants of the individual supernovae that supplied the dust from which the Solar System formed. These grains are recognizable from their exotic chemistry which is alien to the Solar System (such as matrixes of graphite, diamond, or silicon carbide). They also often have isotope ratios which are not those of the rest of the Solar System (in particular, the Sun), and which differ from each other, indicating sources in a number of different explosive supernova events. Meteorites also may contain interstellar dust grains, which have collected from non-gaseous elements in the interstellar medium, as one type of composite [[Astronomy:Cosmic dust|cosmic dust]] ("stardust").<ref name="McSween"/>

Recent findings by [[Organization:NASA|NASA]], based on studies of meteorites found on [[Astronomy:Earth|Earth]], suggests [[Biology:DNA|DNA]] and [[Biology:RNA|RNA]] components ([[Chemistry:Adenine|adenine]], [[Chemistry:Guanine|guanine]] and related organic molecules), building blocks for life as we know it, may be formed extraterrestrially in [[Astronomy:Outer space|outer space]].<ref name="Callahan">{{cite journal |last1=Callahan |first1 = M.P. |display-authors=2 |last2=Smith |first2=K.E. |last3=Cleaves |first3=H.J. |last4=Ruzica |first4=J. |last5=Stern |first5=J.C. |last6=Glavin |first6=D.P. |last7=House |first7=C.H. |last8=Dworkin |first8=J.P. |date=11 August 2011 |title=Carbonaceous meteorites contain a wide range of extraterrestrial nucleobases |doi=10.1073/pnas.1106493108 |pmid=21836052 |pmc=3161613 |volume=108 |issue = 34 |journal=Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |pages=13995–13998|bibcode = 2011PNAS..10813995C |doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="Steigerwald">{{cite web |last=Steigerwald |first=John |title=NASA Researchers: DNA Building Blocks Can Be Made in Space |url=http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/dna-meteorites.html |publisher=[[Organization:NASA|NASA]] |date=8 August 2011 |access-date=2011-08-10 |archive-date=2020-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511192941/https://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/dna-meteorites.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="DNA">{{cite web |title=DNA Building Blocks Can Be Made in Space, NASA Evidence Suggests |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110808220659.htm |date=9 August 2011 |website=ScienceDaily |access-date=2011-08-09}}</ref>

==Comets==
On 30 July 2015, scientists reported that upon the first touchdown of the ''[[Engineering:Philae (spacecraft)|Philae]]'' lander on [[Astronomy:Comet|comet]] 67/P{{'s}} surface, measurements by the COSAC and Ptolemy instruments revealed sixteen [[Chemistry:Organic compound|organic compound]]s, four of which were seen for the first time on a comet, including [[Chemistry:Acetamide|acetamide]], [[Chemistry:Acetone|acetone]], [[Chemistry:Methyl isocyanate|methyl isocyanate]] and [[Chemistry:Propionaldehyde|propionaldehyde]].<ref name="wapo20150730">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/philae-probe-finds-evidence-that-comets-can-be-cosmic-labs/2015/07/30/63a2fc0e-36e5-11e5-ab7b-6416d97c73c2_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223235109/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/philae-probe-finds-evidence-that-comets-can-be-cosmic-labs/2015/07/30/63a2fc0e-36e5-11e5-ab7b-6416d97c73c2_story.html |archive-date=23 December 2018 |title=Philae probe finds evidence that comets can be cosmic labs |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=Associated Press |first=Frank |last=Jordans |date=30 July 2015 |access-date=30 July 2015}}</ref><ref name="esa20150730">{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Science_on_the_surface_of_a_comet |title=Science on the Surface of a Comet |publisher=European Space Agency |date=30 July 2015 |access-date=30 July 2015}}</ref><ref name="SCI-20150731">{{cite journal |last1=Bibring |first1=J.-P. |last2=Taylor |first2=M.G.G.T. |last3=Alexander |first3=C. |last4=Auster |first4=U. |last5=Biele |first5=J. |last6=Finzi |first6=A. Ercoli |last7=Goesmann |first7=F. |last8=Klingehoefer |first8=G. |last9=Kofman |first9=W. |last10=Mottola |first10=S. |last11=Seidenstiker |first11=K.J. |last12=Spohn |first12=T. |last13=Wright |first13=I. |title=Philae's First Days on the Comet – Introduction to Special Issue |date=31 July 2015 |journal=Science |volume=349 |number=6247 |page=493 |doi=10.1126/science.aac5116 |bibcode = 2015Sci...349..493B |pmid=26228139|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Research==
{{recentism|section|date=January 2017}}
In 2004, scientists reported<ref name="Battersby">{{cite magazine |last=Battersby |first=S. |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4552-space-molecules-point-to-organic-origins.html |title=Space molecules point to organic origins|magazine=New Scientist |date=2004 |access-date=11 December 2009}}</ref> detecting the [[Physics:Spectral signature|spectral signature]]s of [[Chemistry:Anthracene|anthracene]] and [[Chemistry:Pyrene|pyrene]] in the ultraviolet light emitted by the Red Rectangle nebula (no other such complex molecules had ever been found before in outer space). This discovery was considered a confirmation of a hypothesis that as nebulae of the same type as the Red Rectangle approach the ends of their lives, convection currents cause carbon and hydrogen in the nebulae's core to get caught in stellar winds, and radiate outward.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal|doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20053738|title=Estimated IR and phosphorescence emission fluxes for specific polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Red Rectangle|date=2006|last1=Mulas|first1=G.|last2=Malloci|first2=G.|last3=Joblin|first3=C.|last4=Toublanc|first4=D.|journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics|volume=446|issue=2|pages=537–549|bibcode=2006A&A...446..537M|arxiv = astro-ph/0509586 |s2cid=14545794}}</ref> As they cool, the atoms supposedly bond to each other in various ways and eventually form particles of a million or more atoms. The scientists inferred<ref name="Battersby"/> that since they discovered [[Astronomy:Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon|polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon]]s (PAHs)—which may have been vital in the formation of early life on Earth—in a nebula, by necessity they must originate in nebulae.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

In August 2009, NASA scientists identified one of the fundamental chemical building-blocks of life (the amino acid [[Chemistry:Glycine|glycine]]) in a comet for the first time.<ref>{{Cite news |title='Life chemical' detected in comet |date=18 August 2009 |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8208307.stm |work=[[Organization:NASA|NASA]] |access-date=6 March 2010 }}</ref>

In 2010, fullerenes (or "buckyballs") were detected in nebulae.<ref>{{cite journal| doi=10.1088/2041-8205/724/1/L39 |doi-access=free | title=Formation Of Fullerenes In H-Containing Planetary Nebulae| last1=García-Hernández|first1=D. A.| last2=Manchado| first2=A.| last3=García-Lario| first3=P.| last4=Stanghellini| first4=L.| last5=Villaver| first5=E.| last6=Shaw| first6=R. A.| last7=Szczerba| first7=R.| last8=Perea-Calderón| first8=J. V.|date=28 October 2010|article-number=L39|issue=1| journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters|volume=724|pages=L39–L43 | bibcode=2010ApJ...724L..39G| arxiv=1009.4357 | s2cid=119121764}}</ref> Fullerenes have been implicated in the origin of life; according to astronomer Letizia Stanghellini, "It's possible that buckyballs from outer space provided seeds for life on Earth."<ref>{{cite news|last=Atkinson| first=Nancy |url=http://www.universetoday.com/76732/buckyballs-could-be-plentiful-in-the-universe| title=Buckyballs Could Be Plentiful in the Universe| work=Universe Today| date=27 October 2010| access-date=28 October 2010}}</ref>

In August 2011, findings by [[Organization:NASA|NASA]], based on studies of meteorites found on Earth, suggests [[Biology:DNA|DNA]] and [[Biology:RNA|RNA]] components ([[Chemistry:Adenine|adenine]], [[Chemistry:Guanine|guanine]] and related organic molecules), building blocks for life as we know it, may be formed extraterrestrially in [[Astronomy:Outer space|outer space]].<ref name="Callahan"/><ref name="Steigerwald"/><ref name="DNA"/>

In October 2011, scientists reported that [[Astronomy:Cosmic dust|cosmic dust]] contains complex [[Chemistry:Organic compound|organic]] matter ("amorphous organic solids with a mixed aromatic-aliphatic structure") that could be created naturally, and rapidly, by stars.<ref name="Space-20111026">{{cite news |last=Chow |first=Denise |title=Discovery: Cosmic Dust Contains Organic Matter from Stars |url=http://www.space.com/13401-cosmic-star-dust-complex-organic-compounds.html |date=26 October 2011 |work=Space.com |access-date=2011-10-26 }}</ref><ref name="ScienceDaily-20111026">{{cite web |title=Astronomers Discover Complex Organic Matter Exists Throughout the Universe |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111026143721.htm |date=26 October 2011 |website=ScienceDaily |access-date=2011-10-27 }}</ref><ref name="Nature-20111026">{{cite journal |last1=Kwok |first1=Sun |last2=Zhang |first2=Yong |title=Mixed aromatic–aliphatic organic nanoparticles as carriers of unidentified infrared emission features |date=26 October 2011 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/nature10542  |bibcode=2011Natur.479...80K |volume=479 |issue=7371 |pages=80–83 |pmid=22031328|s2cid=4419859 }}</ref>

On August 29, 2012, astronomers at Copenhagen University reported the detection of a specific sugar molecule, [[Chemistry:Glycolaldehyde|glycolaldehyde]], in a distant star system. The molecule was found around the [[Astronomy:Protostar|protostellar]] binary ''IRAS 16293-2422'', which is located 400 light years from Earth.<ref name="NG-20120829">{{cite journal|title=Sugar Found In Space|journal=National Geographic |last=Than |first=Ker |date=August 29, 2012 |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/08/120829-sugar-space-planets-science-life/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901013431/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/08/120829-sugar-space-planets-science-life |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 1, 2012 |access-date=August 31, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="AP-20120829">{{cite news |title=Sweet! Astronomers spot sugar molecule near star |url=http://apnews.excite.com/article/20120829/DA0V31D80.html |date=August 29, 2012 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=August 31, 2012 }}</ref> Glycolaldehyde is needed to form ribonucleic acid, or [[Biology:RNA|RNA]], which is similar in function to [[Biology:DNA|DNA]].  This finding suggests that complex organic molecules may form in stellar systems prior to the formation of planets, eventually arriving on young planets early in their formation.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Detection of the simplest sugar, glycolaldehyde, in a solar-type protostar with ALMA|author=Jørgensen, J. K.|display-authors=2|author2=Favre, C. |author3=Bisschop, S. |author4=Bourke, T. |author5=Dishoeck, E. |author6= Schmalzl, M. |journal=The Astrophysical Journal|version=eprint |date=2012|volume=757|issue=1|pages=L4 |article-number=L4|doi=10.1088/2041-8205/757/1/L4|arxiv=1208.5498|bibcode=2012ApJ...757L...4J|s2cid=14205612| url=http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1234/eso1234a.pdf}}</ref>

In September 2012, [[Organization:NASA|NASA scientists]] reported that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), subjected to [[Astronomy:Interstellar medium|interstellar medium (ISM)]] conditions, are transformed, through [[Chemistry:Hydrogenation|hydrogenation]], [[Chemistry:Oxygenate|oxygenation]] and [[Biology:Hydroxylation|hydroxylation]], to more complex [[Chemistry:Organic compound|organics]]—"a step along the path toward amino acids and nucleotides, the raw materials of [[Biology:Proteins|proteins]] and [[Biology:DNA|DNA]], respectively".<ref name="Space-20120920">{{cite news |title=NASA Cooks Up Icy Organics to Mimic Life's Origins |url=http://www.space.com/17681-life-building-blocks-nasa-organic-molecules.html |date=September 20, 2012 |work=Space.com |access-date=September 22, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="AJL-20120901">{{cite journal |last1=Gudipati |first1=Murthy S. |last2=Yang |first2=Rui |title=In-Situ Probing Of Radiation-Induced Processing Of Organics In Astrophysical Ice Analogs—Novel Laser Desorption Laser Ionization Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectroscopic Studies |date=September 1, 2012 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters |volume=756 |number=1 |pages=L24 |doi=10.1088/2041-8205/756/1/L24 |doi-access=free |bibcode = 2012ApJ...756L..24G |article-number=L24|s2cid=5541727 }}</ref> Further, as a result of these transformations, the PAHs lose their [[Physics:Spectroscopy|spectroscopic signature]] which could be one of the reasons "for the lack of PAH detection in [[Astronomy:Interstellar ice|interstellar ice]] [[Astronomy:Cosmic dust#Dust grain formation|grains]], particularly the outer regions of cold, dense clouds or the upper molecular layers of protoplanetary disks."<ref name="Space-20120920"/><ref name="AJL-20120901"/>

In 2013, the [[Astronomy:Atacama Large Millimeter Array|Atacama Large Millimeter Array]] (ALMA Project) confirmed that researchers have discovered an important pair of prebiotic molecules in the icy particles in interstellar space (ISM). The chemicals, found in a giant cloud of gas about 25,000 light-years from Earth in ISM, may be a precursor to a key component of DNA and the other may have a role in the formation of an important [[Chemistry:Amino acid|amino acid]]. Researchers found a molecule called cyanomethanimine, which produces [[Chemistry:Adenine|adenine]], one of the four nucleobases that form the "rungs" in the ladder-like structure of DNA. The other molecule, called ethanamine, is thought to play a role in forming [[Chemistry:Alanine|alanine]], one of the twenty amino acids in the genetic code. Previously, scientists thought such processes took place in the very tenuous gas between the stars. The new discoveries, however, suggest that the chemical formation sequences for these molecules occurred not in gas, but on the surfaces of ice grains in interstellar space.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1088/2041-8205/765/1/L9 |doi-access=free |title=The Detection of Interstellar Ethanimine (Ch3Chnh) from Observations Taken During the Gbt Primos Survey |date=2013 |last1=Loomis |first1=Ryan A. |last2=Zaleski|first2=Daniel P. |last3=Steber |first3=Amanda L. |last4=Neill |first4=Justin L. |last5=Muckle |first5=Matthew T. |last6=Harris |first6=Brent J. |last7=Hollis |first7=Jan M. |last8=Jewell |first8=Philip R. |last9=Lattanzi|first9=Valerio |last10=Lovas |first10=Frank J. |last11=Martinez |first11=Oscar |last12=McCarthy|first12=Michael C. |last13=Remijan |first13=Anthony J. |last14=Pate |first14=Brooks H. |last15=Corby|first15=Joanna F. |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=765 |issue=1 |pages=L9 |article-number=L9 |bibcode=2013ApJ...765L...9L|arxiv = 1302.1121 |s2cid=118522676 }}</ref> NASA ALMA scientist Anthony Remijan stated that finding these molecules in an interstellar gas cloud means that important building blocks for DNA and amino acids can 'seed' newly formed planets with the chemical precursors for life.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrao.edu/pr/2013/newchem/ |author=Finley, Dave |title=Discoveries Suggest Icy Cosmic Start for Amino Acids and DNA Ingredients |work=The National Radio Astronomy Observatory |publisher=Nrao.edu |date=2013-02-28 |access-date=2018-07-17}}</ref>

In January 2014, NASA reported that [[Organization:Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory#Current status|current studies]] on the planet [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]] by the [[Engineering:Curiosity (rover)|''Curiosity'']] and [[Engineering:Opportunity (rover)|''Opportunity'']] [[Astronomy:Mars rover|rovers]] will now be searching for evidence of ancient life, including a [[Biology:Biosphere|biosphere]] based on [[Biology:Autotroph|autotroph]]ic, [[Biology:Chemotroph|chemotroph]]ic and/or chemolithoautotrophic [[Biology:Microorganism|microorganism]]s, as well as ancient water, including [[Earth:Lacustrine plain|fluvio-lacustrine environments]] ([[Earth:Plain|plain]]s related to ancient rivers or lakes) that may have been [[Astronomy:Planetary habitability|habitable]].<ref name="SCI-20140124a">{{cite journal |last=Grotzinger |first=John P. |title=Habitability, Taphonomy, and the Search for Organic Carbon on Mars |journal=Science |date=24 January 2014 |volume=343 |issue=6169 |pages=386–387 |doi=10.1126/science.1249944 |bibcode=2014Sci...343..386G |pmid=24458635|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="SCI-20140124special">{{cite journal |title= Exploring Martian Habitability|url=https://www.science.org/toc/science/343/6169 |date=24 January 2014 |journal=Science |volume=343 |number=6169 |pages=345–452 |access-date=24 January 2014}}{{clarify|reason=specific pagination implies a specific article; TOC does not suggest an article matching the pagination;|date=August 2023}}</ref><ref name="SCI-20140124">{{cite web |title=Curiosity Mars |type=Search results |url=https://www.science.org/action/doSearch?AllField=Curiosity+Mars|date=24 January 2014 |website=Science |access-date=24 January 2014}}{{rs|reason=search results are not WP:RS|date=August 2023}}</ref><ref name="SCI-20140124c">{{cite journal |title=A Habitable Fluvio-Lacustrine Environment at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars |date=24 January 2014 |journal=Science |volume=343 |issue=6169 |pages=386–387 |doi=10.1126/science.1242777 |display-authors=1 |last1=Grotzinger |first1=J. P. |last2=Sumner |first2=D. Y. |last3=Kah |first3=L. C. |last4=Stack |first4=K. |last5=Gupta |first5=S. |last6=Edgar |first6=L. |last7=Rubin |first7=D. |last8=Lewis |first8=K. |last9=Schieber |first9=J. |last10=Mangold |first10=N. |last11=Milliken |first11=R. |last12=Conrad |first12=P. G. |last13=Desmarais |first13=D. |last14=Farmer |first14=J. |last15=Siebach |first15=K. |last16=Calef |first16=F. |last17=Hurowitz |first17=J. |last18=McLennan |first18=S. M. |last19=Ming |first19=D. |last20=Vaniman |first20=D. |last21=Crisp |first21=J. |last22=Vasavada |first22=A. |last23=Edgett |first23=K. S. |last24=Malin |first24=M. |last25=Blake |first25=D. |last26=Gellert |first26=R. |last27=Mahaffy |first27=P. |last28=Wiens |first28=R. C. |last29=Maurice |first29=S. |last30=Grant |first30=J. A.|bibcode=2014Sci...343A.386G |pmid=24324272|citeseerx=10.1.1.455.3973 |s2cid=52836398 }}</ref> The search for evidence of [[Astronomy:Planetary habitability|habitability]], [[Earth:Taphonomy|taphonomy]] (related to fossils), and organic carbon on the planet [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]] is now a primary [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] objective.<ref name="SCI-20140124a" />

In February 2014, [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] announced a [http://www.astrochem.org/pahdb/ greatly upgraded database] for tracking polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the [[Astronomy:Universe|universe]]. According to scientists, more than 20% of the [[Chemistry:Carbon|carbon]] in the universe may be associated with PAHs, possible [[Biology:PAH world hypothesis|starting materials]] for the [[Biology:Abiogenesis#PAH world hypothesis|formation]] of life. PAHs seem to have been formed shortly after the [[Astronomy:Big Bang|Big Bang]], are widespread throughout the universe, and are associated with [[Astronomy:Star formation|new stars]] and exoplanets.<ref name="NASA-20140221">{{cite web |last=Hoover |first=Rachel |title=Need to Track Organic Nano-Particles Across the Universe? NASA's Got an App for That |url=http://www.nasa.gov/ames/need-to-track-organic-nano-particles-across-the-universe-nasas-got-an-app-for-that/ |date=February 21, 2014 |work=[[Organization:NASA|NASA]] |access-date=February 22, 2014 |archive-date=May 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510124801/https://www.nasa.gov/ames/need-to-track-organic-nano-particles-across-the-universe-nasas-got-an-app-for-that/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Chemistry:Abundance of the chemical elements|Abundance of the chemical elements]]
* [[Chemistry:Astrochemistry|Astrochemistry]]
* [[Astronomy:Extraterrestrial materials|Extraterrestrial materials]]
* [[Chemistry:Geochemistry|Geochemistry]]
* [[Physics:List of interstellar and circumstellar molecules|List of interstellar and circumstellar molecules]]
* [[Physics:Molecules in stars|Molecules in stars]]
* [[Physics:Nucleocosmochronology|Nucleocosmochronology]]
* [[Chemistry:Stellar chemistry|Stellar chemistry]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=40em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/ Planetary Science Research Discoveries] Educational journal with articles about cosmochemistry, meteorites, and planetary science
{{BranchesofChemistry}}
{{Astronomy subfields}}
{{Molecules detected in outer space}}

[[Category:Astrochemistry]]
[[Category:Astrophysics]]
[[Category:Planetary science]]

{{Sourceattribution|Cosmochemistry|1}}