National Geographic
Ker Than - Published August 29, 2012
Organic molecules found in gas swaddling a young star.
Carbon (gray), oxygen (red), and hydrogen (white) sugar molecules are seen in an artist's impression.Image courtesy L. Calçada, ESO/NOAJ/NRAO
Astronomers have made a sweet discovery: simple sugar molecules floating in the gas around a star some 400 light-years away, suggesting the possibility of life on other planets.
The discovery doesn't prove that life has developed elsewhere in the universe—but it implies that there is no reason it could not. It shows that the carbon-rich molecules that are the building blocks of life can be present even before planets have begun forming.
More: nationalgeographic.com.
