Contributor: Dr. Guiliana Cosentino

What does it take to form a star? While this question is far from answerable, recent evidence suggests that star formation might involve a blast of waves released by other dying stars, known as “supernova remnants” (SNR). 

Contributor: Dr. Maxime Tanious

In space, flows of interstellar material (composed of gas and dust particles), known as “streamers,” feed the disks around newly born stars. These streamers change the chemical and physical properties of the disks, affecting the way in which they form planets. Using radio telescopes, a group of French astronomers has characterized the physical and chemical properties of such a streamer.

Contributor: O. Sohier

Sohier and their team produce analogues of exoplanetary atmospheres using mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy to better understand their chemical makeup and identify new chemical molecules as they form.