Lab-made cosmic dust reveals clues to life's origins

July 19, 2026 at 06:10 PM2 min

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Researchers at the University of Sydney have created cosmic dust from scratch by recreating space-like conditions inside glass tubes. The dust contains complex carbon-rich molecules built from elements essential to life and produces infrared signals similar to real material found in space. The findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal, offer new clues about how organic chemistry unfolds around stars.

The Experiment

Linda Losurdo, a PhD candidate in materials and plasma physics at the University of Sydney, combined nitrogen, carbon dioxide and acetylene to simulate energetic conditions near stars and supernova remnants. She then exposed the gases to a powerful electrical charge, creating carbon-rich dust resembling material that floats through interstellar space and is preserved inside comets, asteroids and meteorites.

Molecular Fingerprints

The laboratory dust contains complex combinations of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen — known as CHON molecules — found in many organic substances considered important for life. Astronomers identify cosmic dust types by studying infrared light they emit; Losurdo's samples produced the same distinctive infrared signatures seen in space, indicating the experiment closely reproduces real cosmic processes.

Implications for Origins

"We no longer have to wait for an asteroid or comet to come to Earth to understand their histories," Losurdo said. The method allows researchers to reverse-engineer dust structure using infrared fingerprints, providing insight into how carbonaceous cosmic dust forms in plasma from old stars or in stellar nurseries, potentially distributing molecules vital for life.

Microwave Synthesis of Cosmic Dust

Stephen Thompson employs a microwave at Diamond Light Source to synthesize cosmic dust, focusing on the primordial solid matter believed to be the first to form in the universe. This method allows controlled generation of dust to analyze its chemical composition using synchrotron radiation. The research investigates the mixture of chemicals that may have seeded prebiotic processes.