Astronomers have discovered one of the largest carbon-based molecules found in deep space, located within the Taurus molecular cloud, 430 light-years from Earth. The finding is significant because it provides further clues that might help solve a longstanding mystery in astrochemistry: Where does carbon, the building block of life, come from?
The molecule, called pyrene, is made up of four fused planar rings of carbon. It's therefore categorized as a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) — one of the most abundant complex molecules in the visible universe. PAHs were first detected in the 1960s, in meteorites known as carbonaceous chondrites, which are remnants from the primordial nebula that formed our solar system.
