Abstract
Estimation of the organic component of interstellar grains has provoked considerable interest1,2. Recently Duley and Williams2 concluded from an absence of the 3.4-µm CH absorption band in obscured IR sources that organic compounds in grains account for ⩽10% of carbon in the interstellar medium. We report here the detection of a 3.4-µm absorption feature in three IR sources and hence argue that an appreciable mass fraction of interstellar grains are predominantly organic in character.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Whittet, D. C. B. Nature 281, 708 (1979).
Duley, W. W. & Williams, D. A. Nature 277, 40 (1979).
Hoyle, F. & Wickramasinghe, N. C. Nature 268, 610 (1977).
Merrill, D. M., Russell, R. W. & Soifer, B. T. Astrophys. J. 207, 763 (1976).
Becklin, E. E. & Neugebauer, G. Astrophys. J. Lett. 200, L75 (1975).
Smyth, M. J. & Sim, M. E. Nature 283, 457 (1979).
Jones, T. J. & Hyland, A. R. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. (in the press).
Neugebauer, G., Becklin, E. E., Beckwith, S., Matthews, K. & Wynn-Williams, C. G. Astrophys. J. Lett. 205, L139 (1976).
Whittet, D. C. B. & Blades, J. C. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 191, 309 (1980).
Soifer, B. T., Russell, R. W. & Merrill, K. M. Astrophys. J. Lett. 207, L83 (1976).
Willner, S. P., Russell, R. W., Puetter, R. C., Soifer, B. T. & Harvey, P. M. Astrophys. J. Lett. 229, L65 (1979).
Becklin, E. E., Matthews, K., Neugebauer, B. & Willner, S. P. Astrophys. J. 220, 831 (1978).
Soifer, B. T. et al. Astrophys. J. Lett. 232, L53 (1979).
Solomon, P. M., Scoville, N. Z., Penzias, A. A., Wilson, R. W. & Jefferts, K. Astrophys. J. 178, 125 (1972).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wickramasinghe, D., Allen, D. The 3.4-µm interstellar absorption feature. Nature 287, 518–519 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/287518a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/287518a0
This article is cited by
-
The mystery of unidentified infrared emission bands
Astrophysics and Space Science (2022)
-
Cosmic biology in perspective
Astrophysics and Space Science (2019)
-
Comets, Enceladus and panspermia
Astrophysics and Space Science (2018)
-
Complex organics in space from Solar System to distant galaxies
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review (2016)
-
Organic Compounds in Circumstellar and Interstellar Environments
Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres (2015)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
