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And this "fat" is so abundant that a ship that traveled in interstellar space would end up with its windshield covered with a sticky substance, according to chemist Tim Schmidt, of the 39, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Schmidt and his colleagues at Ege University in Turkey made materials in a laboratory with the same properties as interstellar dust
. about 100 fatty carbon atoms per million atoms of hydrogen, accounting for between one-quarter and one-half of the available carbon
In the Milky Way, this equates to about 10 trillion billion tons of fat, or enough for 40 trillion trillions of butter packets, the scientists said in a statement.
But the special fat is very different from the food.
"You would not want to spread this space fat on a slice of bread! It is dirty, probably toxic and only forms in the environment of interstellar space and in our laboratory," he said. Schmidt.
"Intriguing"
Carbon is one of the essential elements of life, but it is unclear how abundant it is in space.
Half of the carbon is among the stars in pure form. The rest is chemically bound in two forms: the so-called aliphatic carbon, which is similar to fat, and the aromatic carbon, similar to that found in mothballs.
Scientists developed a plasma containing carbon under vacuum at low temperature, mimicking the process by which organic molecules are synthesized in the output of carbon stars.
Schmidt and his colleagues analyzed the material using two techniques: magnetic resonance and spectroscopy, which divides light into their lengths.
The researchers determined in this way to what extent the material absorbed light with a certain infrared wavelength, an aliphatic carbon marker
"The combination of our laboratory results with observations from observatories astronomical it allows us to measure the amount of aliphatic carbon between us and the stars, "Schmidt said in a statement. 002] "It is also intriguing that organic materials of this type, which are incorporated in planetary systems, are so abundant."
"The Greatest Story"
The Team Now Wanted to Determine
By determining the amount of each type of carbon in interstellar dust, scientists will be able to determine the amount of carbon available to create life.
"This research helps us understand the great life cycle of carbon," said Schmidt.
It is made in the stars, passes through the interstellar medium and is incorporated in new planetary systems and in life. This is part of a beautiful story, the biggest one that exists. "
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