Discover the molecules needed for life around a super giant star

University of Arizona astronomers have discovered about 20 molecules with the necessary components for life in the environment around the super-giant star VY Canis Majoris.

They observed this oxygen-rich environment thanks to one of the world's most sensitive telescopes.

VY Canis Majoris is one of the celestial bodies of the brightest infrared rays in the sky. This is an ancient star about 5,000 light years from Earth. It is 500,000 times brighter than the Sun but is only bright in the infrared region because it is a cold star.

This supergiant star has 25 times the mass of the Sun but has lost so much mass that it will disappear within 1 million years.

Professor Lucy Ziurys and colleagues at the University of Arizona published in the journal Nature the discovery of about 20 chemical compounds around VY Canis Majoris, including unseen molecules around the bodies. stars and necessary for life such as NaCl, PN, HNC and HCO +.

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