Astronomers have made a sweet discovery, detecting a type of sugar called erythrulose in the space between stars. This sugar is also found in raspberries and self-tanners, and is a key ingredient for life as we know it.
Understanding Sugar Formation
Using two dish-shaped radio telescopes in Spain, researchers collected data from a large gas cloud near the center of the Milky Way. They identified the sugar in gas form by comparing telescope signals to samples in the lab. This is the latest kind of sugar detected in space, and it’s one of the most complex sugars spotted so far.
The discovery lends evidence to the theory that the essential ingredients for life are already present in the galaxy, rather than being delivered by comets or space rocks. Researchers want to look for more sugars in space and learn about how they convert to different forms.
According to astrophysicist Erika Hamden, the sugar is a “pristine example of the stuff that’s just floating out in the galaxy.” The findings were published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Original reporting: NBC Connecticut — read the source article.
