Scientists peered deep into the Iris nebula — located 1,400 light-years from our planet — using powerful observatories to figure out exactly how the molecules, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are distributed in the dusty region.
The medium-sized PAHs — which are "flat molecules consisting of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern, surrounded by hydrogen," according to NASA — actually appear to grow larger when ultraviolet light from the large star at the nebula's center hits them.* Read more...
08-17-2016, 08:05 PM
Life's building blocks mapped in nebula 1,400 light-years from Earth
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