A form of methanol with every hydrogen atom replaced by deuterium has been detected around a young star. The University of Bern described the result on October 7 among the first findings from the COMPASS observing project.
The molecule was found near IRAS 4A2 in the Perseus molecular cloud, about 1,000 light-years from Earth. Deuterium is a heavier form of hydrogen. Finding where it appears helps researchers examine the chemistry that precedes planet formation.
COMPASS uses ALMA, an array of radio antennas in Chile, to study 11 nearby protostars. These are stars still forming from surrounding material. More than 30 researchers contribute to the project, whose first results appear in seven Astronomy & Astrophysics papers.
The team also detected methanol maser emission in more than half of the surveyed objects. A maser amplifies radio waves, making a molecule produce an especially strong signal under suitable conditions.
According to Bern, such signals had previously been associated with much more massive young stars. Their presence around lower-mass objects suggests that locally extreme conditions occur there too.
Methanol is the simplest alcohol and can participate in chemistry that forms larger organic molecules. Detecting it does not establish that a planet exists at the location, much less that life does.
The observations help connect the chemistry of cold clouds with the material available to future planets. This result concerns molecules around forming stars. It is not a detection of life.
