Red Dust Rising

The Annual Meeting of the American Astronomical Society is underway in Texas...

...and due to UnForeseen Circumstances, I am not there.
Strangely enough I can't find the program on-line, but I gather I am there virtually, although I just realised I have no idea if I am on more than one poster at the AAS.

But dozens of press releases are, so I start with one of the most interesting, which strangely enough did not come out with the AAS meeting, but came out last week.

Astronomers at the Carnegie Institution have found the first indications of highly complex organic molecules in the disk of red dust surrounding a distant star. The eight-million-year-old star, known as HR 4796A, is inferred to be in the late stages of planet formation, suggesting that the basic building blocks of life may be common in planetary systems.

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Specifically tholins.

Here is the original Debes et al paper, good stuff.

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Is there some particular source you get these press releases from? Or is it just serendipitous discovery?

Greetings from balmy, cloudy Texas.

You're on three posters, according to the AAS program index.

Your jovial, quasi-secretive Icelandic presence shall be missed :)

Obviously you need Steinn to answer your question, but in this case I can guess the answer. Debes = Steinn's PhD student.

EX-student, please...

You told...

There are several ways to get press releases, starting with Therese's feed mention in the next entry.
If I were at AAS in person, I'd ask nicely and the AAS would probably give me the full embargo'd set, as they have in the past.

Or, try EurekAlert.