Heavy methanol is detected in space for the first time

Astronomers have detected a rare form of methanol around a forming star about 1,000 light-years away, using the ALMA radio telescope array in Chile. In this version, all four hydrogen atoms in the molecule are replaced by deuterium, a heavier form of hydrogen—hence “heavy” methanol. The finding matters because methanol helps drive the chemistry that builds larger organic molecules on icy dust grains before stars and planets fully form. But the molecule appears roughly 100 times more abundant than chemical models predict, suggesting scientists are still missing part of the chemistry at work in these frigid stellar nurseries.