Discovery of the interstellar chiral molecule propylene oxide (CH 3 CHCH 2 O)
Science2016Vol. 352(6292), pp. 1449–1452
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Brett A. McGuire, P. Brandon Carroll, Ryan A. Loomis, Ian A. Finneran, P. R. Jewell, Anthony J. Remijan, Geoffrey A. Blake
Abstract
Life on Earth relies on chiral molecules-that is, species not superimposable on their mirror images. This manifests itself in the selection of a single molecular handedness, or homochirality, across the biosphere. We present the astronomical detection of a chiral molecule, propylene oxide (CH3CHCH2O), in absorption toward the Galactic center. Propylene oxide is detected in the gas phase in a cold, extended molecular shell around the embedded, massive protostellar clusters in the Sagittarius B2 star-forming region. This material is representative of the earliest stage of solar system evolution in which a chiral molecule has been found.
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