Organic Compounds Discovered in Space: Does Alien Life Exist?
A new scientific study found that space matter ejected by stars contains organic compounds that are a key component for sustaining life forms.
In the current issue of the journal Nature, Professors Sun Kwok and Yong Zhang of the University of Hong Kong announced their findings.
"Researchers at the University of Hong Kong observed stars at different evolutionary phases and found that they are able to produce complex organic compounds and eject them into space, filling the regions between stars,” said MSNBC in an online news report on the findings. “The compounds are so complex that their chemical structures resemble the makeup of coal and petroleum," the study's lead author, Sun Kwok of the University of Hong Kong, said.
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Sun Kwok stated that the chemical structure of the organic compounds resembles the makeup of coal and petroleum.
"What impressed me most is that complex organics are easily formed by stars, they are everywhere in our own galaxy and in other galaxies. Nature is much more clever than we had imagined,” said Kwok.
The developed organic compounds were previously believed to have arisen from living organisms in our solar system. This statement may still ring true, but other living beings are not the sole cause of these organic compounds.
Stars at a rapid pace can also produce the complex organic compounds found naturally. These findings still raise the possibility that organic compounds may exist on other planets outside of our solar system. This discovery points to the possibility of there being other forms of alien life on other planets.
Some researchers refrain from stating whether these organic compounds helped start the development of human life, however.
"While it may be too soon to determine whether these organic compounds played a role in kick-starting the development of life on Earth, it certainly is a possibility," Kwok said.
Further analysis into this discovery could surely lead to more evidence of any alien life forms existing in space.
