After a decades-long search, astronomers have finally found the very first molecule to ever form in the universe. The helium hydride ion (HeH+) has long been a key theoretical part of how the chemistry of the cosmos kicked off, but its apparent absence in space had scientists worried they'd gotten it wrong. Now the first unambiguous evidence of the molecule in a planetary nebula has been found. The story goes that soon after the Big Bang, hydrogen and helium dominated the young universe. Eventually, neutral helium atoms combined with ionized hydrogen to form HeH+, which would have been the first type of molecule possible from the ingredients available. That in turn opened up different combinations that gradually snowballed into the extensive chemical library we know today. That's all well and good in theory, but confirmation that that was how it happened has eluded scientists for decades. HeH+ was first produced in the lab way back in 1925, but despite the expectation that it should be naturally abundant in the interstellar medium, the molecule had never been observed until now. "The chemistry of the universe began with HeH+," says Rolf Güsten, first author of the study. "The lack of definitive evidence of its very existence in interstellar space has been a dilemma for astronomy for a long time." The spectrum of HeH+ as detected by SOFIA Composition: NIESYTO design; Image NGC 7027: William B. Latter (SIRTF Science Center/Caltech) and NASA/ESA; Spectrum: Rolf Güsten/MPIfR (Nature, April 18, 2019) The problem is that HeH+ emits its strongest spectral line at a frequency of 2.01 THz, which Earth's atmosphere can block. To get past that, scientists have now used NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), which can scour the cosmos from its perch onboard a Boeing 747SP. Since this mobile observatory flies at an altitude of up to 45,000 ft (13,700 m), it can get an unobscured view of the required infrared wavelengths. And sure enough, using SOFIA the team spotted the telltale spectral signature of HeH+ in the envelope of the planetary nebula NGC 7027. "The discovery of HeH+ is a dramatic and beautiful demonstration of nature's tendency to form molecules", says David Neufeld, co-author of the study. "Despite the unpromising ingredients that are available, a mixture of hydrogen with the unreactive noble gas helium, and a harsh environment at thousands of degrees Celsius, a fragile molecule forms. Remarkably, this phenomenon can not only be observed by astronomers but also understood using theoretical models that we have developed." The research was published in the journal Nature. Source: Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy<doc-sep>Decades of hunting has paid off. Happy Hunting Based on scientists’ calculations, the first molecule to ever form from stray atoms in the universe was likely helium hydride, a combination of helium and hydrogen. For decades, physicists have hunted the universe for the elusive molecule. And now an international team of researchers say they’ve finally found it — thereby confirming the presumed first step in the universe’s chemistry. No Doubt In a study published in the journal Nature Wednesday, the researchers describe how they used NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), the world’s largest airborne observatory, to detect helium hydride in a planetary nebula about 3,000 light-years away from Earth. “It was so exciting to be there, seeing helium hydride for the first time in the data,” researcher Rolf Guesten said in a news release. “This brings a long search to a happy ending and eliminates doubts about our understanding of the underlying chemistry of the early universe.” Advertisement Advertisement READ MORE: The Universe’s First Type of Molecule Is Found at Last [NASA] More on the early universe: Scientists Now Know When the First Stars Formed in the Universe As a Futurism reader, we invite you join the Singularity Global Community, our parent company’s forum to discuss futuristic science & technology with like-minded people from all over the world. It’s free to join, sign up now!<doc-sep>
Researchers using a NASA airborne observatory detected the universe's earliest molecule in space for the first time ever. Helium hydride, or HeH+, formed just after the Big Bang nearly 14 billion years ago, said scientists with Germany's Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy. The team used a telescope aboard NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, also known as SOFIA, to detect the molecule in a planetary nebula. "The lack of definitive evidence of its very existence in interstellar space has been a dilemma for astronomy for a long time," says Rolf Güsten of the Max Planck Institute and lead author of a study on the discovery published online Wednesday in the journal Nature, in a statement. Scientists have been studying helium hydride in space since 1925, when the molecule was created in a laboratory, said NASA. According to NASA, the early universe was hot after the Big Bang, with mostly hydrogen and helium atoms existing at the time. Once those atoms merged to form molecules, such as helium hydride, the universe started to cool down. "This brings a long search to a happy ending and eliminates doubts about our understanding of the underlying chemistry of the early universe," said Güsten in a statement. Researchers used the GREAT far-infrared spectrometer, an instrument similar to a radio receiver, aboard the airborne observatory SOFIA to detect the molecule. "This molecule was lurking out there, but we needed the right instruments making observations in the right position – and SOFIA was able to do that perfectly,” said Harold Yorke, director of the SOFIA Science Center, in a statement. Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.