Astronomers have studied the outflow from a Class 0 protostar and found complex molecules like methanol. They form in the shockwave environment where the outflows slam into the interstellar medium. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Life exists because elements combine to form complex organic molecules. Astrochemistry studies this process, trying to understand how nature creates carbon-based molecules critical for life. One source for these types of molecules is the outflows emitted by protostars.
Protostars grow by accreting gas, and while they do so, they also emit energy. Protostars haven't begun fusing hydrogen yet, so their energy comes from shocks on its surface generated by in-falling gas. They can also emit high speed streams of gas as astrophysical jets. These jets carry away excess angular momentum, allowing the protostars to keep growing. These jets also create illuminated shocks in the interstellar medium (ISM).
Shock fronts like these are where energy and matter are concentrated, and that's where Nature does its thing. They're like a chaotic speed-dating event for chemicals. The heat and pressure splits some molecules apart and binds others together and it all happens quickly.
