Phosphorus, a vital element for life on Earth, was recently found beyond the Milky Way galaxy for the first time. Phosphorus is a key component of the molecular framework of DNA and RNA, the fundamental building blocks of living organisms.
Other elements associated with life on Earth include: Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulfur, Hydrogen.
MIT physics professor Sara Seager and her biochemistry colleagues focus on possible chemical combinations that could signal the presence of alien life.
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes the Solar System. The term “Milky Way” describes the galaxy’s appearance from Earth as a hazy band of light formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye
One such pivotal marker is phosphorus, a life-critical element integral to the molecular framework of DNA and RNA, the fundamental building blocks for living organisms. Traditionally confined to the Sun’s vicinity and the inner Milky Way, phosphorus is a product of the fusion of silicon atoms in stars like our Sun.
Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for all life on Earth. Without phosphorus, there would be no life.
A phosphorus deficiency can cause:
- Loss of appetite
- Anemia (low red blood cell counts)
- Muscle weakness
- Coordination problems
- Bone pain
- Soft and deformed bones
- A higher risk of infection
- A feeling of burning or prickling in the skin
- Confusion
- Bone disease (osteomalacia, rickets)
Phosphorus is also needed to help balance and use other vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D, iodine, magnesium, and zinc
Breaking this paradigm, researchers Lilia Koelemay, Karlie Gold and Lucy Ziurys from the University of Arizona have achieved a groundbreaking feat — the discovery of phosphorus in the remote outskirts of the Milky Way!
In their study of gas cloud WB89-621, positioned near the galaxy’s edge, the trio stumbled upon an unexpected revelation. While employing a method called millimetre spectra analysis to study the chemical makeup of the gas cloud, they identified rotational lines indicative of phosphorus presence in a region 73,000 light-years from the Milky Way’s centre.
Considering the fact that supernovae, typical phosphorus sources, are notably absent in the outer Milky Way, this finding raises intriguing questions about the origin of the observed phosphorus.
Gas cloud WB89-621 has phosphorus oxide and phosphorus mononitride in similar abundance to what has been found in the Solar System. The cloud has a RGC of 22.6 kpc.
The cloud was studied by Lilia Koelemay, Karlie Gold, and Lucy Ziurys, and reported in the journal Nature.
Other gas clouds include:
- WB89–670: Has the third highest methanol abundance
- WB89 380: Ionized gas is breaking through the cloud
- WB89 85: Observed with a beam size of 0.60×0.47 pc2
- WB 89-437: The gas in the cloud core might be hotter than the temperature indicated by the `2C0
Universe discoveries 