In situ research of cometary chemistry began when measurements from the Giotto mission at
Comet 1P/Halley revealed the presence of complex organics in the coma. New telescopes …

To date, 204 individual molecular species, comprised of 16 different elements, have been
detected in the interstellar and circumstellar medium by astronomical observations. These …

The importance of comets for the origin of life on Earth has been advocated for many
decades. Amino acids are key ingredients in chemistry, leading to life as we know it. Many …

To date, 241 individual molecular species, composed of 19 different elements, have been
detected in the interstellar and circumstellar medium by astronomical observations. These …

Evidence is mounting that the small bodies of our Solar system, such as comets and
asteroids, have at least partially inherited their chemical composition from the first phases of …

Context. The discovery of amino acids in meteorites fallen to Earth and the detection of
glycine, the simplest of them, in samples returned from a comet to Earth strongly suggest that …

Prebiotic phosphorylation of (pre) biological substrates under aqueous conditions is a
critical step in the origins of life. Previous investigations have had limited success and/or …

We report the first detection of the phosphorus monoxide ion (PO+) in the interstellar
medium. Our unbiased and very sensitive spectral survey toward the G+ 0.693–0.027 …

To understand how phosphorus (P)-bearing molecules are formed in star-forming regions,
we have analysed the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations …

Phosphorus mononitride (PN) only has a fleeting existence on Earth, and molecular
precursors for the release of this molecule under mild conditions in solution have remained …