The most complex molecules yet found in space have shown astronomers how such organic matter is created. The evidence points to a rare type of star as the origin for life's building blocks.Two hydrocarbon molecules called anthracene and pyrene occur in a nebula called the Red Rectangle, 1000 light years from Earth, according to results presented at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. A team led by Adolf Witt of the University of Toledo, Ohio, used telescopes in Chile and Arizona to examine ultraviolet light emitted by the nebula, and found the spectral signatures of these molecules.The two molecules contain 24 and 26 atoms respectively, making them about twice the size of the previous record holder, a molecular chain of 13 atoms. They are made of linked rings of carbon atoms, and belong to a class of molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). "If you see a diesel truck in front of you blowing out black smoke, that is mostly PAHs" notes Witt.

There is evidence that huge quantities of PAHs exist in deep space, from the infrared light they emit, and amino acids have been found in meteorites landing on Earth. Organic molecules like these must have rained down on the early Earth, and may have helped life to begin.


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