Scientists have detected a new, unusually large molecule never seen in space before. The 13-atom molecule, called 2-methoxyethanol, was detected in the Cat's Paw Nebula.
"When we observe interstellar sources with radio telescopes, we can collect the rotational signal from the gaseous molecules in these regions of space," first study author Zachary Fried, an astrochemist at MIT, told Live Science in an email "Because the molecules in space obey the same quantum mechanical laws as those on Earth, the rotational transitions observed in the telescope data should line up with those measured in the lab."
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"When we observe interstellar sources with radio telescopes, we can collect the rotational signal from the gaseous molecules in these regions of space," first study author Zachary Fried, an astrochemist at MIT, told Live Science in an email "Because the molecules in space obey the same quantum mechanical laws as those on Earth, the rotational transitions observed in the telescope data should line up with those measured in the lab."
Source