IRAS 16293–2422 is a binary system consisting of at least two forming

protostar A protostar is a very young star that is still gathering mass from its parent molecular cloud. It is the earliest phase in the process of stellar evolution. For a low-mass star (i.e. that of the Sun or lower), it lasts about 500,000 years. The p ...

s A and B, separated by a distance of 700

astronomical units The astronomical unit (symbol: au or AU) is a unit of length defined to be exactly equal to . Historically, the astronomical unit was conceived as the average Earth-Sun distance (the average of Earth's aphelion and perihelion), before its mode ...

(au), both having masses similar to that of the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

. It is located in the

Rho Ophiuchi Rho Ophiuchi (ρ Ophiuchi) is a multiple star system in the constellation Ophiuchus. The central system has an apparent magnitude of 4.63. Based on the central system's parallax, it is located about 450 light-years distant. The othe ...

star-forming region, at a distance of 140

parsecs The parsec (symbol: pc) is a unit of length used to measure the large distances to astronomical objects outside the Solar System, approximately equal to or (AU), i.e. . The parsec unit is obtained by the use of parallax and trigonometry, and ...

(pc). Astronomers using the ALMA array found

glycolaldehyde Glycolaldehyde is the organic compound with the formula . It is the smallest possible molecule that contains both an aldehyde group () and a hydroxyl, hydroxyl group (). It is a highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive molecule that occurs both ...

— a simple form of sugar — in the gas surrounding the star. This discovery was the first time sugar has been found in space around a solar-type star on scales corresponding to the distance between Sun and Uranus - i.e., the scales where a planet-forming disk is expected to arise. The discovery shows that the building blocks of

life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

may be in the right place, at the right time, to be included in planets forming around the star.

Chloromethane Chloromethane, also called methyl chloride, Refrigerant-40, R-40 or HCC 40, is an organic compound with the chemical formula . One of the haloalkanes, it is a colorless, sweet-smelling, flammable gas. Methyl chloride is a crucial reagent in indu ...

, also known as methyl chloride, was detected for the first time in the

interstellar medium The interstellar medium (ISM) is the matter and radiation that exists in the outer space, space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, as well as cosmic dust, dust and cosmic rays. It f ...

in IRAS 16293–2422. Chloromethane is an important biomarker but its discovery in a protostellar system showed that it can be formed through abiotic processes in space. The

accretion disk An accretion disk is a structure (often a circumstellar disk) formed by diffuse material in orbital motion around a massive central body. The central body is most frequently a star. Friction, uneven irradiance, magnetohydrodynamic effects, and ...

was found to have parts rotating in opposite directions, the first time such a discovery has been made, and means that when planets form, the inner planets may orbit the opposite direction to the outer planets.

References

Ophiuchus Binary stars Protostars 16293-2422 Articles containing video clips {{Multi-star-stub