The case of the missing phosphorus: Astronomers find life ingredient at galaxy's edges
University doctoral students used two radio telescopes, including the Arizona Radio Observatory 12-meter radio telescope on Kitt Peak, to make the discovery.
Tom Folkers/Steward Observatory
The discovery of phosphorus in a molecular cloud at the edge of the Milky Way galaxy challenges current views of how the element originates and extends the galactic habitable zone. The study authored by University of Arizona Graduate Student Lilia Koelemay and Regents professor Lucy Ziurys, published in Nature, calls into question the conventional wisdom that nature's only way of producing phosphorus is through supernova explosions.
"But to make phosphorus, you need some kind of violent event," explained Lucy Ziurys, Regents Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Astronomy and Astronomer at Steward Observatory. "It is thought that phosphorus is created in supernova explosions, and for that, you need a star that has at least 20 times the mass of the sun."
Learn more in this University of Arizona Communications article.