III. Ecosmos: A Revolutionary Fertile, Habitable, Solar-Bioplanet, Incubator Lifescape

G. An Astrochemistry to Astrobiological Spontaneity

Dauphas, Nicolas, et al. Bayesian Inference on the Isotopic Building Blocks of Mars and Earth. arXiv:2309.15290. Origins Lab University of Chicago and Southwest Research Institute researchers describe an extensive study of elements and combinations that seemed to have an early role for these neighbor worlds. Some billions of years later, one habitable occasion just now reaches a collective cognizance which can undertake such studies. In regard, a main theme is an avail of these iterative methods as a way to hone in better results (see below).

Isotopic anomalies provide a means of probing the materials responsible for terrestrial planets. By way of new iron data from Martian meteorites and insights from published data for O, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Ni, Sr, Zr, Mo, Ru, and Si, we analyze potential changes in compositions accreted by Mars and Earth during their formation. A Principal Component Analysis of meteorites identifies three main clusters: CI, CC=CM+CO+CV+CR, and NC=EH+EL+H+L+LL. (Excerpt)

Bayesian inference and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach: In the context of a probabilistic model and prior distributions including both parameters of interest (𝐹) and nuisance (𝐼), MCMC strives to generate samples from the posterior distributions of given observed data (𝑇Y). Starting at a set of parameters, the algorithm iteratively proposes new parameters and decides on whether to accept or reject this present state based on a set of rules.(8, for example)

Davies, Paul. New Hope for Life Beyond Earth. Sky & Telescope. June, 2004. A new piece in the puzzle is the discovery of microbial organisms living at extremes of hot or cold temperatures, deep sea pressure or harsh chemical environments. With life’s niche much extended by these hardy “extremophiles,” it should conceivably be able to proliferate throughout the interstellar universe.

De Marcellus, Pierre, et al. Aldehydes and Sugars from Evolved Precommetary Ice Analogs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112/965, 2014. A team of astronomers from France and Mexico report findings of these organic precursors, which are attributed to a primordial water-bearing milieu when the solar system formed. See also Detection of a Branched Alkyl Molecule in the Interstellar Medium: iso-propyl cyanide by Arnaud Belloche, et al, in Science (345/1584, 2014) and Water Formation in the Early Universe (arXiv:1503.03475).. With sophisticated instrumental and computational capabilities, aided by international collaborations, an innately life-bearing cosmos is being well quantified and proven.

In molecular clouds out of which stars and planetary systems form, simple solid-state molecules made in large part of H2O, CO, CO2, CH3OH, and NH3 are abundantly present. In these environments, energetic and thermal processes on these ices, which can be simulated in the laboratory, lead to complex organic matter. Possibly at the origin of the organic matter in our Solar System and incorporated into planetesimals, this material may be considered as a potential source for prebiotic chemistry on telluric planets, following a process that may be quite universal. The composition of these laboratory-evolved ices includes potentially prebiotic species such as amino acids and, as presented in this paper, aldehydes and sugars. (Significance)

De Vera, Jean-Pierre and Joseph Seckbach, eds. Habitability of Other Planets and Satellites. Berlin: Springer, 2013. Volume 28 in the Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology series. The epochal discoveries of our Milky Way and a galactic cosmos seemingly filled with orbital spheres of every variety have spawned many studies as this, not possible earlier. An initial section is Habitable Zones and Life: Energy, Liquid Solvent, Information, and chapters go on from there to consider many aspects from how to detect bioworlds to earth analogs.

In the very last chapter (Part 8), we will summarize and give some conclusions, which cover the implications on the society if habitable worlds and even extraterrestrial life are discovered. The existence of other habitable worlds and life in the universe would complete the Copernican and Darwinian revolution and would emphasize that life is a universal phenomenon and not an anomaly or particularity. In a provoking further step, we might be able to formulate the thesis that the evolution of life and the formation of intelligence is a usual process in our universe. Discoveries supporting the last thesis could consequently have an important impact on religions, philosophy, and the human society itself. (Preface)

Des Marais, David, et al. The NASA Astrobiology Roadmap. Astrobiology. 3/2, 2003. Outlines of the space agency’s comprehensive program to explore three prime questions: How does life begin and evolve, does life exist elsewhere in the universe, and what is the future of life on Earth and beyond?

Dick, Steven. Critical Issues in the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Astrobiology. Astrobiology. 12/10, 2012. A lead presentation for the History and Philosophy of Astrobiology meeting held September 2011 fittingly on Ven Island, off the Danish coast, where astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1602) built his original telescope to scan the heavens. The emeritus NASA historian again lays out a thorough survey, via a dozen “Critical Issues,” as we begin to realize that a universe increasingly suffused with biomolecular precursors, widening habitable zones, and planetary prolificacy seems quite conducive for developing creaturely life and intelligences. This October issue is free online, see also Exoplanet Detection by Michael Perryman, Habitable Zones by Stephen Kane and Dawn Gelino, and a roundtable discussion. But when and how might a “Cosmic Evolution – the Master Narrative” he casts become legible enough via worldwide humankind to reveal its vital plot, story line, and resolution?

Fifty years after serious scientific research began in the field of exobiology, and forty years after serious historical research began on the subject of extraterrestrial life, this paper identifies and examines some of the most important issues in the history, philosophy, and sociology of what is today known as astrobiology. As in the philosophy of science in general, and in the philosophies of particular sciences, critical issues in the philosophy and sociology of astrobiology are both stimulated and illuminated by history. Among those issues are (1) epistemological issues such as the status of astrobiology as a science, the problematic nature of evidence and inference, and the limits of science; (2) metaphysical/scientific issues, including the question of defining the fundamental concepts of life, mind, intelligence, and culture in a universal context; the role of contingency and necessity in the origin of these fundamental phenomena; and whether or not the universe is in some sense finetuned for life and perhaps biocentric; (3) societal issues such as the theological, ethical, and worldview impacts of the discovery of microbial or intelligent life; and the question of whether the search for extraterrestrial life should be pursued at all, and with what precautions; and (4) issues related to the sociology of scientific knowledge, including the diverse attitudes and assumptions of different scientific communities and different cultures to the problem of life beyond Earth, the public ‘‘will to believe,’’ and the formation of the discipline of astrobiology. All these overlapping issues are framed by the concept of cosmic evolution — the 13.7 billion year Master Narrative of the Universe—which may result in a physical, biological, or postbiological universe and determine the longterm destiny of humanity. (Abstract)

Critical Issue #3: What is life when considered in the universal context of astrobiology? How does astrobiology change our core conceptions of life? Is there a general theory of living systems, a universal biology as there is a universal physics? What is the origin of replicating systems, under what conditions will life arise, and what is the role of chance and necessity in the origin of life in the universe? What are the metaphysical assumptions that underlie our concepts of life? (911) Critical Issue #6: Is there a link between biology and cosmology? Is the universe indeed finely tuned for life? Is the universe in some sense biocentric, and if so, why? (916)

Critical Issue #12: Are cosmic evolution and cosmic natural selection goal-oriented, giving a teleological aspect to the universe? If so, what is the goal? Is cosmic evolution really linear as usually depicted, ‘‘merely’’ the unfolding of cosmic time from 13.7 billion years ago to the present? Or is there some more complex structure, involving the very nature of space-time, the creation of baby universes via black holes, perhaps by way of some cosmic natural selection of universes and their constants, if not by a cosmic natural intelligence? (920)

Only natural law and a natural intelligence are within the province of science. Here we come full circle to Critical Issues 1 and 2, for the biocentric principle, the multiverse, and cosmic teleology represent the ultimate in the problematic nature of evidence and inference. If universe, life, and mind are in some deep cosmological sense connected, the subject of Critical Issue 6, human minds naturally want to know the goal and our role in that connection. (921)

Dick, Steven and James Strick. The Living Universe: NASA and the Development of Astrobiology. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2004. Mostly a history of how the characterization of and search for life in the solar system and cosmos came to be of central significance and definition for the agency.

Domagal-Goldman, Shawn and Katherine Wright, Co-Lead Editors. The Astrobiology Primer 2.0. Astrobiology. 16/8, 2016. A premier team of some 50 researchers from around the bioplanet including Sara Walker, Aditya Chopra, Chris Crockett, and William Brazelton, prepare an educational tutorial as collaborative Earthlings begin to explore an increasingly fertile and fecund galactic cosmos filled with solar systems. Some 25 pages of references are a further resource.

Dulieu, Francois, et al. How Micron-Sized Dust Particles Determine the Chemistry of Our Universe. Nature Scientific Reports. 3/1338, 2013. As the Abstract explains, Observatoire de Paris, Aix-Marseille Universite, and Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, Groningen, researchers find another feature of celestial mediums that seems inherently conducive for facilitating this vital vector of biological complexity. (And I started with a typo “chemistory” – might one wonder what stories nebulae realms do indeed have to tell?)

In the environments where stars and planets form, about one percent of the mass is in the form of micro-meter sized particles known as dust. However small and insignificant these dust grains may seem, they are responsible for the production of the simplest (H2) to the most complex (amino-acids) molecules observed in our Universe. Dust particles are recognized as powerful nano-factories that produce chemical species. However, the mechanism that converts species on dust to gas species remains elusive. Here we report experimental evidence that species forming on interstellar dust analogs can be directly released into the gas. This process, entitled chemical desorption (fig. 1), can dominate over the chemistry due to the gas phase by more than ten orders of magnitude. It also determines which species remain on the surface and are available to participate in the subsequent complex chemistry that forms the molecules necessary for the emergence of life. (Abstract)

Ehrenfreund, Pascale, et al, eds. Astrobiology: Future Perspectives. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic, 2004. An international panel discusses facets such as organic molecules in space, planetary plate tectonics and life’s origins.

Etim, Emmanuel and Elangannan Arunan. Accurate Enthalpies of Formation of Astromolecules. arXiv:1609.09589. Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, physical chemists quantify the prolific abundance, stability, and energetics of an innately fecund cosmic spacescape.

Accurate enthalpies of formation are reported for known and potential astromolecules using high level ab initio quantum chemical calculations. A total of 130 molecules comprising of 31 isomeric groups and 24 cyanide/isocyanide pairs with atoms ranging from 3 to 12 have been considered. The results show an interesting, surprisingly not well explored, relationship between energy, stability and abundance (ESA) existing among these molecules. Among the isomeric species, isomers with lower enthalpies of formation are more easily observed in the interstellar medium compared to their counterparts with higher enthalpies of formation. Our comprehensive results on 130 molecules indicate that the available experimental enthalpy of formation for some molecules, such as NaCN, may be less reliable and new measurements may be needed. (Abstract excerpts)

Fontain, F., et al. CHEMOUT: CHEMical Complexity in Star-forming Regions of the OUTer Galaxy. arXiv:2203.00719. Eight astronomers from Italy, Spain and Germany describe a latest, thorough analysis of biochemical molecules which suffuse all galactic reaches. Thus a case forms that an evidently organic ecosmos will spontaneously seed and infuse itself with the especial precursors that life needs on the way to terrestrial evolution.

The outer Galaxy has a metallicity lower than the Solar one. To gain understanding on how chemistry changes throughout the Milky Way, we observe outer Galaxy star-forming regions with models adapted for lower metallicity environments. Here we present a title observational project known as CHEMOUT. We apply to 35 dense molecular clouds of the outer Galaxy ny way of the IRAM 30m telescope. The result includes simple organic species HCO+, H13CO+, HCN, c-C3H2, HCO, C4H, and HCS+, the hydrocarbon CH3CCH, along with SiO, CCS and SO. Our results show that organic molecules and tracers of protostellar activity are ubiquitous in the low-metallicity environment of the outer Galaxy. Based on this, and the presence of small, terrestrial planets throughout the Galaxy, the Galactic Habitable Zone should be viewed anew for its ubiquitous capacity to form organic molecules. (Abstract excerpt)

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