Scientists Identify Alcohol Molecule Used in Hand Sanitisers in Space

Scientists have discovered the largest alcohol molecule ever found to date in space. A group of international researchers have identified isopropanol for the first time around Sagittarius B2, a region of the Milky Way where other molecules have been detected. Isopropanol is an ingredient used in hand sanitisers, which have become commonplace during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The discovery has highlighted the complex formation of alcohol molecules found in interstellar space.  

Researchers from the University of Virginia and astrophysicists from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany were behind the research that was published in the European astronomy journal, Astronomy & Astrophysics. So far, scientists have discovered around 276 organic molecules in space over the past five decades.  

Scientists were able to identify isopropanol around Sagittarius B2, a region of the Milky Way where many other large molecules have been identified, using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array found in Northern Chile. Researchers have used the radio telescope to also identfy isopropyl cyanide, N-methylformamide, urea around Sagittarius B2 since 2014.  

“Our group began to investigate the chemical composition of [Sagittarius] B2 more than 15 years ago,” said Arnaud Belloche from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, the lead author of the detection paper. “These observations were successful and led in particular to the first interstellar detection of several organic molecules, among many other results.” 

“We’re discovering molecules that are more and more complicated at the very early stages of star formation,” said Rob Garrod, one of the co-authors of the research paper. “Increasingly, we’re looking at a situation where life is potentially being given a head start by the chemistry happening very early on in space, before even a planet is formed.” 

Researchers have been trying to understand how large and complex organic molecules like various alcohols are able to form in interstellar space. These molecules are often found in regions where new stars are formed, and help scientists understand the chemical composition of comets and other celestial bodies.