14 DAY TRIAL // Throughout the Universe, astronomers at the American space agency observed a very peculiar occurrence. Certain stars, regardless of their distance from Earth, tended to emit an interesting glow in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. For several decades, NASA has been hypothesizing that the glows come from compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which are some very important chemicals.
During their investigations, NASA experts were unable to find any clear correlation between PAH and the infrared stellar glow, but they did manage to create a massive database of observed PAH signatures. In a move that was widely saluted by the international scientific community, NASA officials have now decided to release the information contained within the PAH signature database to the general public. This abundance of new data is bound to inform and influence a large number of future studies on both PAH and the IR glow, Space reports.
“Initially, our hope was to help interpret the experimental spectra, but over time, our computational capabilities made it possible to study molecules much larger than can be studied in the laboratory,” explains computational chemist Charles Bauschlicher Jr. The expert is based in Moffett Field, California, at the NASA Ames Research Center. He explains that PAH compounds are important economically, commercially and biologically.
“PAHs in space are probably produced by carbon-rich, giant stars. A similar process produces soots here on Earth. Besides astronomical applications, this PAH database and software can be useful as a new research tool for scientists, educators, policy makers, and consultants working in the fields of medicine, health, chemistry, fuel composition, engine design, environmental assessment, environmental monitoring, and environmental protection,” adds Ames astrochemist Louis Allamandola.
He explains that the recently-released database contains about 700 spectra of such hydrocarbons. All the readings were collected ether in their neutral or electrical charged states. The spectra itself can vary in temperature between 243 and 1,093 degrees Celsius (470 and 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit), which is bound to provide astrophysicists with ample room to conducted research on their origins and behavior.