Astronomers find sugar molecule near the centre of the Milky Way
A routine scan of deep space has uncovered a sweet surprise that could change what we know about the origins of life on Earth and the order of creation in our galaxy
READING LEVEL: ORANGE
A sugar molecule found in raspberries and fake tan has been detected in a gas cloud near the heart of the Milky Way, in a discovery scientists said could help explain how some of life’s key ingredients formed before Earth existed.
Astronomers* said they have detected the chemical fingerprint of erythrulose, a simple sugar, in a vast cloud of gas and dust near the centre of our galaxy.
The discovery does not mean alien life has been found. Instead, scientists said it showed relatively complex organic molecules* could form in deep space before stars and planets were born.
Authors of the Nature Astronomy study said erythrulose was the first confirmed “true sugar” found in the interstellar* medium, being the gas and dust between stars.
Erythrulose is found naturally in raspberries and is also used in self-tanning lotions.
Researchers detected the molecule in a large molecular cloud known as G+0.693-0.027, near the Milky Way’s centre.
The signal was picked up in observations from Spain’s Yebes 40m and IRAM 30m radio telescopes, then checked against laboratory measurements.
Scientists identified erythrulose by analysing its microwave* spectrum, effectively matching the molecule’s signature.
Sugars are important to life on Earth because they provide energy and play a role in the chemistry of genetic* material including DNA* and RNA*.
Study lead author Dr Izaskun Jiménez-Serra, from Spain’s Centre for Astrobiology*, said the discovery suggested some of life’s basic ingredients could form before planets existed.
“The detection of the first sugar in interstellar space suggests that the key ingredients for life can form in molecular nebula* before stars and planets form,” she told the ABC.
Erythrulose is a four-carbon sugar known as a ketose*.
The researchers said it may form on icy dust grains in space when smaller molecules combine under the influence of ultraviolet* light or cosmic* rays.
The discovery builds on earlier findings of sugar-like molecules near the galactic centre*, as well as sugars found in meteorites* and asteroid* samples.
Researchers now hoped to search for more complex sugars in interstellar space to try to understand how far prebiotic* chemistry could develop before planets form.
The finding adds weight to the idea that some of the raw ingredients for life may have been present in space long before they arrived on young planets such as Earth.
POLL
GLOSSARY
- astronomers: scientists who studies the stars, planets, and other natural objects in space
- molecules: the simplest unit of a chemical substance, usually a group of two or more atoms
- interstellar: located, occurring or travelling between the stars
- genetic: belonging or relating to genes (parts of the DNA in cells) received by each animal or plant from its parents
- DNA: the abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid, the chemical at the centre of the cells of living things that controls each cell’s structure and function and carries information in the form of genes from generation to generation
- RNA: abbreviation for ribonucleic acid: an important chemical present in all living cells
- astrobiology: the study of life’s beginnings on Earth and the possibility of life on other planets
- nebula: a cloud of gas or dust in space, appearing either bright or dark
- ketose: any monosaccharide (sugar) that contains a ketone group
- cosmic: relating to the universe and the natural processes that happen in it
- ultraviolet: UV light has a wavelength that is after the violet (= light purple) end of the range of colours that can be seen by humans
- galactic centre: the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way, which hosts a supermassive black hole named Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*)
- meteorites: a piece of matter from space that has landed on earth
- asteroid: any one of many small planets that orbit the sun not considered a true planet
- prebiotic: of, relating to, or being chemical or environmental precursors of the origin of life
EXTRA READING
Stars snack on planets in space
NASA releases stunning view of Milky Way
QUICK QUIZ
- The sugar molecule is found in which fruit and product here on Earth?
- What is the uninspiring name of the large molecular cloud at the centre of the Milky Way?
- Where was the signal picked up and using which instruments?
- Why are sugars important to life on Earth?
- What does the discovery suggest about the time before planets existed?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Comic strip
Draw a comic strip illustrating the key statements in the article:
- Gas cloud found in space
- Scientists using radio telescopes
- Finding the sugar molecule
- Why the discovery matters
- Share your comic strip with your classmates.
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Visual Arts, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
If scientists discovered life on another planet. Should humans try to contact it?
What would you say or ask?
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
I spy nouns
Nouns are places, names (of people and objects), and time (months or days of the week).
How many nouns can you find in the article?
Can you sort them into places, names and time?
Pick three nouns and add an adjective (describing word) to the nouns.