An international team of astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), of which the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a partner (NSF NRAO), has combined expertise from across the globe to open a new window on how the organic molecules that seed planets, and potentially life, form in space.

New results from the ALMA COMPASS Large Program (Complex Organic Molecules in Protostars with ALMA Spectral Surveys) show that young, still-forming stars are surrounded by a surprisingly sophisticated “chemical starter kit,” including organic molecules such as methanol that may one day enrich planets.

“We are getting completely new insights into the complex chemistry occurring around the youngest protostars,” said Jes Jørgensen, professor at the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen and principal investigator of the program. “The interesting question is how these chemical ingredients may influence the conditions on planets and potentially the origin of life there.”