Multimedia Gallery
Sugar molecules found in gas around star
The Rho Ophiuchi star-forming region in infrared light, as seen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Wide-field Infrared Explorer (WISE). Blue and cyan represent light emitted at wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 micrometers, which is predominantly from stars. Green and red represent light from 12 and 22 micrometers, respectively, which is mostly emitted by dust. Rho Ophiuchi, a dark nebula of gas and dust and one of the closest star-forming regions to our solar system, is where the young, sun-like binary star IRAS 16293-2422, seen here as the red object in the center of the small square, is located. A team of astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) found molecules of glycolaldehyde--a simple form of sugar--in the gas surrounding IRAS 16293-2422.
Although glycolaldehyde has been seen in interstellar space before--it was detected in 2000 using the National Science Foundation's (NSF) 12-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory and in 2004 using NSF's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope--this is the first time it has been found so near to a sun-like star and at distances comparable to the distance of Uranus from the sun in our solar system. This discovery shows that some of the chemical compounds needed for life existed in this system at the time of planet formation.
ALMA is supported by an international partnership that includes NSF.
You can view this same image but pinpointing the exact location of IRAS 16293-2422, and with an inset image depicting an artists impression of the molecular structure of glycolaldehyde (C2H4O2), Here.
To learn more about this discovery, see the European Southern Observatory news story Sweet result from ALMA. (Date of Image: 2012)
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/WISE Team
Special Restrictions: Before using this image or any other visual belonging to ALMA, please read Usage of ALMA visuals from the ALMA website.
Images and other media in the National Science Foundation Multimedia Gallery are available for use in print and electronic material by NSF employees, members of the media, university staff, teachers and the general public. All media in the gallery are intended for personal, educational and nonprofit/non-commercial use only.
Images credited to the National Science Foundation, a federal agency, are in the public domain. The images were created by employees of the United States Government as part of their official duties or prepared by contractors as "works for hire" for NSF. You may freely use NSF-credited images and, at your discretion, credit NSF with a "Courtesy: National Science Foundation" notation.
Additional information about general usage can be found in Conditions.
Also Available:
Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (30.4 MB)
Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.