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Interstellar chemistry

Molecular nitrogen in space

Nature volume 429, pages 615–616 (2004)Cite this article

Astronomers have found evidence of molecular nitrogen in the clouds of gas between the Earth and a distant star. The chemistry involved in the formation of these diffuse clouds might need to be rethought.

On page 636 of this issue, David C. Knauth and colleagues1 claim the first detection of molecular nitrogen (N2) in interstellar space. This simple diatomic molecule, made of one of the most abundant elements in the Universe, is the most common constituent of Earth's modern atmosphere. It is also a major component of the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan, and has been detected in trace amounts in the atmospheres of Venus and Mars. But it has proved surprisingly difficult to find N2 in any environment beyond the Solar System.

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  1. Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, Boulder, 80309-0389, Colorado, USA

    Theodore P. Snow

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  1. Theodore P. Snow
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Snow, T. Molecular nitrogen in space. Nature 429, 615–616 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/429615a

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/429615a

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