From stardust to life

Where do we come from?

The atoms in our bodies, and everything around us, were forged deep inside massive stars and expelled into space in spectacular supernovae. In the vast ice-cold clouds that remain, some gather on dust grains and gradually assemble into increasingly complex molecules, from water to organics. As these clouds collapse, new stars and planets are born, inheriting and reprocessing this chemical heritage. Comets and asteroids have also delivered prebiotic building blocks to young planets, sprinkling seeds of life. Unraveling this cosmic cycle is at the heart of astrochemistry. By combining powerful telescopes with lab experiments and computer models, researchers from various fields are piecing together how the universe became capable of producing life.
 
On Thursday, October 23, Science Café Nijmegen hosts a special edition at De Achtertuin (Vasim), in collaboration with the international Astrochemistry: From Quantum to Cosmos conference, featuring three scientists who will guide us through this cosmic story. Pioneer and leading astrochemist Ewine van Dishoeck (Leiden University) opens the evening with an overview of the field: from molecular evolution to star and planet formation, including the latest discoveries by the James Webb Space Telescope. Niels Ligterink (TU Delft) then takes us to the recently discovered interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, an ancient traveler of over 10 billion years, offering a glimpse of some of the oldest water and organics and its long history of deep-space irradiation. And Klaus Paschek (MPI for Astronomy, Heidelberg) explores prebiotic molecules in meteorites and on the early Hadean Earth, revealing life’s earliest chemical pathways.
 
From 7:45 pm onwards, pianist Jonne de Meij and friends will set the stage with live jazz — proof that the universe also knows how to swing!