LEIDEN - During her master's thesis, Curaçaoan Nashanty Brunken has identified the largest molecule in a disk so far. She did this together in a team with five other astronomers.
This discovery is big news and leads to an academic article and a press release. "I still can't believe it! To make such a great discovery while researching your master's thesis and to be featured in a scientific journal is very special. But I didn't do it alone. It was really a team effort together with my supervisors and the two other writers," says Brunken to Inge van Dijck of the web editor of the University of Leiden.
The results of the research will allow scientists to learn more about the origin of life on Earth. This also gives them a better picture of extraterrestrial life in other planetary systems. Brunken: "It's very exciting to see how these findings fit into the bigger picture."
Brunken is a master's student of Astronomy at the University of Leiden. She currently specializes in science communication.