Related papers: DNA Nucleobase Synthesis at Titan Atmosphere Analo…
The chemistry of planetary atmospheres containing molecular nitrogen as a major atmospheric component is strongly influenced by the reactions of atomic nitrogen. Although nitrogen atoms in their ground electronic state N(4S) are mostly…
Analysis of the Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (UVIS) stellar and solar occultations at Titan to date include 12 species: N$_{2}$ (nitrogen), CH$_{4}$ (methane), C$_{2}$H$_{2}$ (acetylene), C$_{2}$H$_{4}$ (ethylene),…
In Titan's atmosphere, the chemistry of small hydrocarbons and nitriles represent an important link from molecular species to the ubiquitous organic haze that gives Titan its characteristic yellow color. Here we present a new search for two…
Saturn's Moon Titan receives volatiles into the top of its atmosphere-including atomic oxygen-sourced from cryovolcanoes on Enceladus. Similar types of atmosphere exchange from one body to another, such as O2 and O3 sourced from TRAPPIST-1…
Aromatic molecules represent fundamental building blocks in prebiotic chemistry and are contemplated as vital precursors to DNA and RNA nitrogen bases. However, despite the identification of some 300 molecules in extraterrestrial…
The photochemical haze produced in the upper atmosphere of Titan plays a key role in various atmospheric and surface processes on Titan. The surface energy, one important physical properties of the haze, is crucial for understanding the…
The New Horizons spacecraft, which flew by Pluto on July 14, 2015, revealed the presence of haze in Pluto's atmosphere that were formed by CH4/N2 photochemistry at high altitudes in Pluto's atmosphere, as on Titan and Triton. In order to…
The aerosols present in the atmosphere of the Saturn s moon Titan are of particular planetary science interest and several spacecraft missions already allowed to gather spectroscopic data. Titan haze s analogs, so-called tholins, were…
Titan, the main satellite of Saturn, has an active cycle of methane in its troposphere. Among other evidence for a mechanism of evaporation at work on the ground, dry lakebeds have been discovered. Recent Cassini infrared observations of…
Prebiotic molecules, fundamental building blocks for the origin of life, have been found in carbonaceous chondrites. The exogenous delivery of these organic molecules onto the Hadean Earth could have sparked the polymerization of the first…
The origin of life on Earth involves the early appearance of an information-containing molecule such as RNA. The basic building blocks of RNA could have been delivered by carbon-rich meteorites, or produced in situ by processes beginning…
As the only moon in the solar system with a thick atmosphere, Titan is a compelling and enigmatic world containing a complex organic haze. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules are believed to play an essential role in the…
An experimental photochemistry study involving gas- and solid-phase amino acids (glycine, DL-valine, DL-proline) and nucleobases (adenine and uracil) under soft X-rays was performed. The aim was to test the molecular stabilities of…
Photochemical hazes are expected to form and significantly contribute to the chemical and radiative balance of exoplanets with relatively moderate temperatures, possibly in the habitable zone of their host star. In the presence of humidity,…
Earth is expected to have acquired a reduced proto-atmosphere enriched in H2 and CH4 through the accretion of building blocks that contain metallic Fe and/or the gravitational trapping of surrounding nebula gas. Such an early, wet, reduced…
In the planetary atmosphere, hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is an important nitrogen (N)-bearing molecule that plays a key role in the formation of several biomolecules via chain reactions. The presence of HCN characterizes the stratospheric…
Several clues indicate that Titan's atmosphere has been depleted in methane during some period of its history, possibly as recently as 0.5-1 billion years ago. It could also happen in the future. Under these conditions, the atmosphere…
Cassini discovered a plethora of neutral and ionised molecules in Titan's ionosphere including, surprisingly, anions and negatively charged molecules extending up to 13,800 u/q. In this letter we forward model the Cassini electron…
Atmospheric photochemistry on Titan continuously transforms methane and nitrogen gases into various organic compounds. This study explores the fate of these molecules when they land on Titan's surface. Our analytical exploration reveals…
Each of the nitriles present in the atmosphere of Titan can be expected to exhibit different \ce{^{14}N/^{15}N} values depending on their production processes, primarily because of the various \ce{N2} dissociation processes induced by…