22 / 04: Researcher discover two highly complex organic molecules detected in space

The IRAM 30 metre telescope in Spain was used to detect emissions from molecules in the star-forming region Sagittarius B2, close to the centre of our galaxy. The two new molecules were detected in a hot, dense cloud of gas known as the "Large Molecule Heimat", which contains a luminous newly-formed star. Large organic molecules of many different sorts have been detected in this cloud in the past, including alcohols, aldehydes, and acids. The new molecules, ethyl formate (C2H5OCHO) and n-propyl cyanide (C3H7CN), represent two different classes of molecule - esters and alkyl cyanides - and they are the most complex of their kind yet detected in interstellar space.