Atoms of noble gases like helium, neon and argon which are odorless, colorless, single-atom gases that have low chemical reactivity have always been known to exist in outer space. But the molecules involving them have disappeared. Now, European astronomers say they have detected noble gas molecules in space for the first time. Researchers at University College London were using the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory to measure the amount of dust in the remnants of various supernovas when they detected strong, mysterious emissions of light in the Crab nebula. Based on the frequency of the emissions, it was determined that they must be coming from spinning molecular ions of argon hydride. Beyond being a scientific first, the discovery helps confirm existing theories of how argon is formed. “We can tell from the frequency we observed which isotope of argon we’re looking at,” said Michael J. Barlow, the lead author of the study, which was published in the journal Science, “and it was definitely argon-36. That’s 18 neutrons and 18 protons.” Scientists had previously predicted that a supernova like the Crab nebula would produce argon-36 and not, say, argon-40, which is created by the radioactive decay of rocks on Earth. Most previous searches for noble gas molecules in space had focused on molecules containing helium, which is more abundant in the universe than other noble gases. Why they escaped detection for so many years remains a mystery, Dr. Barlow said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/17/science/space/noble-molecules-found-in-space.html
By: Amber Farlow
It's really cool to think of all the stuff that exists in outer space that we either thought didn't exist or thought had disappeared. Outer space is so cool and it is so interesting to hear new discoveries about whats out there!
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