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Search for water and life's building blocks in the Universe: An Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2016

Sun Kwok
Sun Kwok*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China email: sunkwok@hku.hk
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Abstract

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Water and organics are commonly believed to be the essential ingredients for life on Earth. The development of infrared and submillimeter observational techniques has resulted in the detection of water in circumstellar envelopes, interstellar clouds, comets, asteroids, planetary satellites and the Sun. Complex organics have also been found in stellar ejecta, diffuse and molecular clouds, meteorites, interplanetary dust particles, comets and planetary satellites. In this Focus Meeting, we will discuss the origin, distribution, and detection of water and other life's building blocks both inside and outside of the Solar System. The possibility of extraterrestrial organics and water on the origin of life on Earth will also be discussed.

Keywords

astrobiologyastrochemistry
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 11 , General Assembly A29B: Astronomy in Focus , August 2015 , pp. 376 - 379
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2016 

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