The dance of elements in space: from clouds to planets, from atoms to life

Authors

  • Cecilia Ceccarelli University of Grenoble

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/eutopias.0.18776

Keywords:

Star formation, molecules, life

Abstract

This article follows the dance of the atoms created in the interiors of the stars, as they bind together and form molecules of increasing complexity while a star and a planetary system like our Solar System form. From a diffuse cloud and free-floating atoms, this process took about 4.5 billions years to shape the Solar System, and ended up with the most complex molecular structure in the Universe that we know: life.

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References

CASELLI, Paola and CECCARELLI, Cecilia (2012), “Our astrochemical heritage”, The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review, 20, 56 (http://fr.arxiv.org/abs/1210.6368)

CECCARELLI, Cecilia, CASELLI, Paola, BOCKELEEMORVAN, Dominique, MOUSIS, Olivier, PIZZARELLO, Sandra, ROBERT, François, and SEMENOV, Dmitry (2014), “Deuterium Fractionation: the Ariadne’s Thread from the Pre-collapse Phase to Meteorites and Comets today”, In Protostars and Planets VI, University of Arizona Space Science Series (http:// fr.arxiv.org/pdf/1403.7143v1)

DAWKINS, Richard (1990), The selfish gene, Oxford University Press.

DE DUVE, Christian (2005), Singularities: Landmarks on the pathways of life, Cambridge University Press.

MORBIDELLI, Alessandro, LUNINE, J.I., O’BRIEN, D.P., RAYMOND, S.N. and WALSH, K.J. (2012), “Building terrestrial planets”, Annual Reviews Earth and Planetary Science, 40, 251

SALADINO, Raffaele, BOTTA, Giorgia, PINO, Samanta, COSTANZO, Giovanna, and DI MAURO, Ernesto (2012), “Genetics first or metabolism first? The formamide clue”, Chemical Society Reviews, 16, 5635

For an update list of the molecules discovered in the interstellar space look at http://www.astrochymist.org/astrochymist_ ism.html or http://www.astro.uni-koeln.de/cdms/ molecules

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Published

2014-12-28

How to Cite

Ceccarelli, C. (2014). The dance of elements in space: from clouds to planets, from atoms to life. EU-topías. A Journal on Interculturality, Communication, and European Studies, 8, 73–81. https://doi.org/10.7203/eutopias.0.18776
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Issue

VOL. 8 (2014)

Section

DOSSIER

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