A ring-like accretion structure in M87 connecting its black hole and jet.

The nearby radio galaxy M87 is a prime target for studying black hole accretion and jet formation. Event Horizon Telescope observations of M87 in 2017, at a wavelength of 1.3 mm, revealed a ring-like structure, which was interpreted as gravitationally lensed emission around a central black hole.

Thiols in the ISM: first detection of HC(O)SH and confirmation of CHSH.

The chemical compounds carrying the thiol group (-SH) have been considered essential in recent prebiotic studies regarding the polymerization of amino acids. We have searched for this kind of compounds toward the Galactic Centre quiescent cloud G+0.693-0.

Discovery in space of ethanolamine, the simplest phospholipid head group.

Cell membranes are a key element of life because they keep the genetic material and metabolic machinery together. All present cell membranes are made of phospholipids, yet the nature of the first membranes and the origin of phospholipids are still under debate. We report here the presence of ethanolamine in space, [Formula: see text]OH, which forms the hydrophilic head of the simplest and second-most-abundant phospholipid in membranes.

Laboratory Observation of, Astrochemical Search for, and Structure of Elusive Erythrulose in the Interstellar Medium.

Rotational spectroscopy provides the most powerful means of identifying molecules of biological interest in the interstellar medium (ISM), but despite their importance, the detection of carbohydrates has remained rather elusive. Here, we present a comprehensive Fourier transform rotational spectroscopic study of elusive erythrulose, a sugar building block likely to be present in the ISM, employing a novel method of transferring the hygroscopic oily carbohydrate into the gas phase. The high sensitivity of the experiment allowed the rotational spectra of all monosubstituted isotopologue species of C-CHO to be recorded, which, together with quantum chemical calculations, enabled us to determine their equilibrium geometries () with great precision.

Laboratory measurements and astronomical search for the HSO radical.

Context: Despite the fact that many sulfur-bearing molecules, ranging from simple diatomic species up to astronomical complex molecules, have been detected in the interstellar medium, the sulfur chemistry in space is largely unknown and a depletion in the abundance of S-containing species has been observed in the cold, dense interstellar medium (ISM). The chemical form of the missing sulfur has yet to be identified.

Aims: For these reasons, in view of the fact that there is a large abundance of triatomic species harbouring sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen, we decided to investigate the HSO radical in the laboratory to try its astronomical detection.

CH2D(+), the search for the holy grail.

CH2D+, the singly deuterated counterpart of CH3(+), offers an alternative way to mediate formation of deuterated species at temperatures of several tens of Kelvin, as compared to the release of deuterated species from grains. We report a longstanding observational search for this molecular ion, whose rotational spectroscopy is not yet completely secure. We summarize the main spectroscopic properties of this molecule and discuss the chemical network leading to the formation of CH2D+, with explicit account of the ortho/para forms of H2, H3(+), and CH3(+).