The Astrochemistry reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Astrochemistry

Astrochemistry is the study of the chemicals found in outer space, usually in molecular gas cloudss, and their formation, interaction and destruction. As such, it represents an overlap of the disciplines of astronomy and chemistry. The most common molecule H₂, does not have a dipole moment, so it is not easily detectable. Much easier to detect is the CO molecule. Hundreds of types of molecules have been observed so far, even complex ones as amino acids. There is active ongoing research on the way this molecules form and interact. This can have an impact even in our undestanding of the origin of life on earth.

See also:

• Interstellar cloud
• Interstellar medium
• Nebula

This is the "Astrochemistry" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.