In:
Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, Frontiers Media SA, Vol. 9 ( 2022-3-15)
Abstract:
One of the theories for the origin of life proposes that a significant fraction of prebiotic material could have arrived to Earth from outer space between 4.1 and 3.8 billion years ago. This suggests that those prebiotic compounds could have originated in interstellar space, to be later on incorporated to small Solar-system bodies and planetesimals. The recent discovery of prebiotic molecules such as hydroxylamine and ethanolamine in the interstellar medium, strongly supports this hypothesis. However, some species such as sugars, key for the synthesis of ribonucleotides and for metabolic processes, remain to be discovered in space. The unmatched sensitivity of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) at centimeter wavelengths will be able to detect even more complex and heavier prebiotic molecules than existing instrumentation. In this contribution, we illustrate the potential of the SKA to detect simple sugars with three and four carbon atoms, using a moderate investment of observing time.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2296-987X
DOI:
10.3389/fspas.2022.843766
Language:
Unknown
Publisher:
Frontiers Media SA
Publication Date:
2022
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2778829-5
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