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Karin Oberg

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description Karin Oberg Overview

Karin Oberg is an astronomer specializing in astrochemistry. Her research focuses on analyzing chemical compositions within protoplanetary disks surrounding young stars. Notably, her team identified the initial detection of a complex organic molecule – methyl isocyanide – within one such disk in 2015. This work contributes to understanding the origins of molecules and potential building blocks for life beyond Earth.

She conducts research primarily at Harvard University and serves researchers studying star and planet formation.

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What did Karin Oberg discover?

Karin Oberg and her research group at Harvard reported in 2015 the first detection of a complex organic molecule in a protoplanetary disk. The molecule, methyl cyanide, was found in the disk around the young star MWC 480, providing evidence that the building blocks of life may be present before planets fully form.

Where does Karin Oberg work?

Karin Oberg is a professor of astronomy at Harvard University and leads the Oberg Astrochemistry Group at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Her research focuses on the chemistry of star and planet formation.

What is Karin Oberg's research about?

Oberg's research focuses on astrochemistry, particularly the organic molecules present in protoplanetary disks where new planets are forming. Her work explores how these chemical compounds might seed forming planets with the ingredients necessary for life.

What telescope did Karin Oberg use for her 2015 discovery?

The 2015 discovery of methyl cyanide in the protoplanetary disk around MWC 480 was made using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. ALMA is one of the most powerful radio telescope arrays in the world for observing cold molecular gas in space.