IRS 46
The gibbous Moon tweaks the corner of the "snake charmer" tonight -- Ophiuchus. This big constellation stretches above and to the left of the Moon as it rises in late evening.
One of its many charms is a newborn star that's surrounded by some of the raw materials for the basic components of DNA -- the basis for life on Earth. The materials are a long way from anything as complicated as DNA. But it's the first time that such materials have been detected in a young star system that might be giving birth to planets.
The system is known as IRS 46, and it's about 375 light-years away. Its central star is about half as massive as the Sun, and it's quite young. It's still surrounded by a thick disk of gas and dust. Some of this material may be coalescing to form planets.
If so, then these new worlds will have at least two organic compounds -- acetylene and hydrogen cyanide -- to serve as building blocks for life.
A team of astronomers detected the compounds with Spitzer Space Telescope, which is studying many young star systems that may be giving birth to planets. They did follow-up studies with two telescopes on the ground.
The compounds are close to the star -- in the general region where Earth-like planets might form. It's a long way from having the ingredients, though, to the creation of planets and life. It'll take millions of years to form planets. And life would take much longer than that -- IF it forms at all.
Script by Damond Benningfield, Copyright 2006
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