Optical Spectroscopy of Extraterrestrial Molecules

空间不是空的。在恒星之间的广阔区域中，是一种复杂的分子汤。其中一些分子被合并到陨石中，并找到了到达地球的途径，在那里它们可以被识别。分析已经产生了氨基酸，这是生命的组成部分，但这些分子与我们对星际区域的了解不匹配。星际分子可以通过它们的光谱来识别，但这些光谱中的许多特征是未知的。它们会不会是由缺失的分子引起的？在这个项目中，我们结合了三位光谱学家的技能，每个人都是不同领域的专家，试图在实验室中制造这些分子，测量它们的光谱，从而识别这些在太空中的未知分子。

Space is not empty. In the vast regions between stars is a complex soup of molecules. Some of these molecules get incorporated into meteorites and find their way to Earth where they can be identified. Analysis has yielded amino acids; the building blocks of life, but these molecules do not match what we know about the interstellar regions. Interstellar molecules are identified by their spectra, but many features in these spectra are unknown. Could they be caused by the missing molecules? In this project we combine the skills of three spectroscopists, each expert in different areas, in an attempt to make these molecules in the laboratory, measure their spectra and thereby identify these unknown molecules that are in space.