Hunting Molecules with the MWA - ICRAR

Hunting Molecules with the MWA

This image shows the centre of the Milky Way as seen by the Galactic Centre Molecular Line Survey. This probes deep into the centre of the galaxy and is sensitive to many organic and inorganic molecules such as the mercapto radical (SH) and nitric oxide (NO). Credit: Chenoa Tremblay (ICRAR-Curtin)

Astronomers have used an Australian radio telescope to observe molecular signatures from stars, gas and dust in our galaxy, which could lead to the detection of complex molecules that are precursors to life.