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Life-Forming Chemicals Found in Distant Galaxy

Irene Klotz, Discovery News

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Jan. 17, 2008 -- Radio astronomers collecting data from a galaxy about 250 million light-years from Earth recently stumbled upon something intriguing: building blocks for life.

The astronomers were testing a new, highly sensitive science instrument at the Arecibo Observatory and set their sights on a distant galaxy that seldom disappoints: the ultra-luminous, dual-core Arp 220, a veritable factory for star production.

Arp 220 is so thick with stars that astronomers estimate supernovas, the suicidal explosions of young massive stars, are happening four times a year, as compared to our own relatively quiescent Milky Way galaxy, with a supernova about every half-century or so.

So it was with an open mind and no set agenda that astronomers collected data for about 30 hours last April using a device that analyzes multiple frequencies simultaneously. The instrument can detect chemicals that incoming radio waves have passed through before reaching the telescope's collecting dish.

What they found, however, was totally unexpected: methanimine and hydrogen cyanide.

The discovery, which was unveiled at the American Astronomical Society conference in Austin, Texas, last week, is significant because methanimine and hydrogen cyanide are building blocks for amino acids, the foundation of life.

"Methanimine has barely been seen in our own galaxy," Arecibo astronomer Christopher Salter told Discovery News. "Nobody had looked for it in deep space."