The Search for Molecular Oxygen in Space
Originally shared by Pierre Markuse
The Search for Molecular Oxygen in Space
For over thirty years, astronomers have been searching for molecular oxygen, O2, as part of an accounting of cosmic oxygen atoms. Despite early predictions that O2 should be abundant in the molecular clouds that form new stars and planetary systems, it is virtually absent. CfA astronomer Gary Melnick and his colleague improved the models to take into account the role of ultraviolet radiation in modifying the chemical and physical conditions in shocks.
Full story here:
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/su201530
More information here:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/herschel/news/herschel20110801.html
Image credit: Orion Nebula imaged by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope at infrared wavelengths, oxygen molecules were found near the star-forming core ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech http://1.usa.gov/1GUDuKD
#science #astronomy #molecularoxygen #o2 #orionnebula #space #spitzerspacetelescope #ultravioletradiation
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