ASTRONOMERS HAVE FOUND GREASE IN SPACE

[Judi Lynn]

Article written: 2 Jul , 2018
by Matt Williams

Over the course of many centuries, scientists learned a great deal about the types of conditions and elements that make life possible here on Earth. Thanks to the advent of modern astronomy, scientists have since learned that these elements are not only abundant in other star systems and parts of the galaxy, but also in the medium known as interstellar space.

Consider carbon, the element that is essential to all organic matter and life as we know it. This life-bearing element is also present in interstellar dust, though astronomers are not sure how abundant it is. According to new research by a team of astronomers from Australia and Turkey, much of the carbon in our galaxy exists in the form of grease-like molecules.

Their study, “Aliphatic Hydrocarbon Content of Interstellar Dust“, recently appeared in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The study was led by Gunay Banihan, a professor from the Department of Astronomy and Space Sciences of Erge University in Turkey, and included members from multiple departments from the University of New South Wales in Sydney (UNSW).

For the sake of their study, the team sought to determine exactly how much of our galaxy’s carbon is bound up in grease-like molecules. At present, it is believed that half of the interstellar carbon exists in pure form, whereas the rest in bound up in either grease-like aliphatic molecules (carbon atoms that form open chains) and mothball-like aromatic molecules (carbon atoms that form planar unsaturated rings).

More:
https://www.universetoday.com/139550/astronomers-have-found-grease-in-space/

[Frustratedlady]

1. Probably bacon!

[Cracklin Charlie]

2. Is it in an old coffee can?

It’s my mom’s.

[Marie Marie]

3. Good one.

[House of Roberts]

4. Grease is the word

It's got groove, it's got meaning
Grease is the time, is the place, is the motion
Grease is the way we are feeling

And we started putting things in orbit about that time in pop culture.