The discovery of the elusive compound, methanetetrol, has sent shockwaves through the scientific community. An international team of researchers, led by Ryan Fortenberry, Ralf Kaiser, and Alexander M. Mebel, have successfully synthesized this prebiotic concentrate for the first time.

“This is essentially a seed of life molecule,” Fortenberry explained in an interview. “It’s something that can lead to more complex chemistry if given the opportunity.” The team used a unique process involving frozen water and carbon dioxide ices exposed to cosmic ray-like radiation to release methanetetrol into gas form.

Methanetetrol is an ortho acid, an elusive class of compounds thought to play a key role in early life chemistry. However, its instability means it’s likely to break down quickly, releasing water, hydrogen peroxide, and other potential compounds essential for life.

“It’s like a prebiotic bomb,” Fortenberry said, highlighting the molecule’s explosive potential when exposed to energy. If methanetetrol can form in the lab, it can also form naturally in space, making it a crucial discovery for astrochemists searching for regions with life-supporting chemistry.

While carbon is the foundation of life, oxygen is what makes up nearly everything else. “Oxygen is everywhere and is essential for life as we know it,” Fortenberry emphasized. By finding places where methanetetrol forms naturally, scientists can identify potential building blocks to support life beyond Earth.

This groundbreaking research has been made possible by funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), highlighting the importance of continued investment in scientific inquiry and discovery.

The discovery of a star that survived an encounter with a supermassive black hole and came back for more has left astronomers stunned. For decades, scientists have observed spectacular flares caused by stars falling onto these cosmic monsters, only to be destroyed in the process. However, a team of researchers from Tel Aviv University has made a groundbreaking finding: one such flare, named AT 2022dbl, was repeated nearly two years after its initial occurrence, suggesting that at least part of the star survived.

Led by Dr. Lydia Makrygianni and Prof. Iair Arcavi, the study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters reveals that this flare might not have been a full stellar disruption as previously thought. Instead, it could be a result of the partial destruction of the star, with much of its material surviving to come back for a second, nearly identical passage.

The implications of this finding are significant. If future flares from the same location occur at regular intervals, it would suggest that these events might not be one-off occurrences but rather part of a more complex and dynamic process. “This discovery upends conventional wisdom about such tidal disruption events,” says Prof. Arcavi. “We’ll have to re-write our interpretation of these flares and what they can teach us about the monsters lying in the centers of galaxies.”

The study’s findings also challenge long-held assumptions about black holes, which are notoriously difficult to study due to their complete darkness. By observing the aftermath of a star’s encounter with a supermassive black hole, scientists have gained valuable insights into these enigmatic objects.

As researchers continue to investigate this phenomenon, they may uncover even more secrets about the complex interactions between stars and supermassive black holes. The question now is: will we see a third flare after two more years, in early 2026?

The latest discovery from the Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) spacecraft has provided astronomers with an unprecedented tally of elemental sulfur spread between the stars. Using data from two binary star systems, scientists have detected sulfur in the interstellar medium, a vast expanse of gas and dust found between stars.

A team of international researchers led by Lía Corrales, an assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Michigan, has used X-rays to study sulfur’s presence in both its gaseous and solid phases. The findings, published in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, have shed new light on the distribution of this essential element throughout the universe.

“Sulfur is crucial for cellular functions here on Earth, but we still have many questions about where it’s found out in space,” said Corrales. “The XRISM spacecraft offers the resolution and sensitivity needed to find sulfur in both forms and learn more about its presence.”

Researchers used ultraviolet light to detect gaseous sulfur in the interstellar medium. In denser regions, such as molecular clouds where stars and planets are born, this form of sulfur quickly disappears. Scientists assume that sulfur condenses into a solid, possibly by combining with ice or mixing with other elements.

To study sulfur, the researchers employed a similar technique to medical X-rays on Earth. They selected a portion of the interstellar medium with the right density and then used the Resolve instrument on XRISM to measure the energy of X-rays from binary star systems. This allowed them to determine that sulfur was present not only as a gas but also as a solid, possibly mixed with iron.

The findings suggest that chemistry in environments like the interstellar medium is very different from anything that can be done on Earth. However, researchers have modeled sulfur combined with iron, and it seems to match what they’re seeing with XRISM. The team proposes a few compounds that would match XRISM’s observations, including pyrrhotite, troilite, and pyrite.

The researchers were also able to use measurements from a second X-ray binary called 4U 1630-472 to confirm their findings. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has previously studied sulfur, but XRISM’s measurements are the most detailed yet.

“We’re still in the early stages of learning about sulfur’s presence in the universe,” said Brian Williams, the XRISM project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “The Milky Way is a vast and complex galaxy, and there’s still much to learn about it.”