FORMAMIDE ACETALDEHYDE FORMIC ACID METHANOL CYANOACETYLENE FORMALDEHYDE
FORMAMIDE ACETALDEHYDE FORMIC ACID METHANOL CYANOACETYLENE FORMALDEHYDE
These organic molecules (above) were first discovered in interstellar space with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) 140ft telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia.
NH3 (AMMONIA!) NRAO 140 ft telescope H2O (WATER!)
AMMONIA NRAO 140' WATER

Astronomers have used the NRAO 140 Foot diameter telescope to make major advances in our understanding of interstellar chemistry. Many organic molecules commonly found on Earth (and in the home!) were discovered to exist in space using the 140 foot and other telescopes. These molecules are found in clouds of gas in our galaxy. Some of the clouds can be seen with the naked eye. The Orion nebula (below) is the fuzzy patch hanging below Orion's belt of stars in the winter sky. It is one location where many organic molecules are found in space.
ORION NEBULA

These clouds of gas fill the center plane of our galaxy. The image of our Galaxy's center (below) identifies these clouds as bright white peaks in the radio emission map.
Galactic Plane at 8.4 GHz
Hydrogen, Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen The key (left) shows the colors of the 4 atoms in all the molecules, Hydrogen (white), Nitrogen (blue), Carbon (grey), and Oxygen (red).

Thanks to Richard Cornelius , Professor of Chemistry at Lebanon Valley College, for providing models of the molecules discovered. His web chemistry and molecule sites provide excellent introductions.

The history of detection of molecules in space is documented by F. J. Lovas, D. R. Johnson and Snyder in the 1979 Astrophysical Journal Supplements Volume 41, Page 451 (g-ziped postscript, 1.5 Mbytes). The search for new molecules continues. Lewis E. Snyder describes more recent searches in the 1997 SPIE volume 3111, page 296 (abstract, html).. A reference list of molecule excitation frequencies is provided by NIST

The NRAO 140ft telescope is shielded from radio interference by West Virginias mountains to the east and west. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a facillity of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

glangsto@nrao.edu, last update: 99 August 10