Radio telescopes help scientists map molecules in space and uncover where and how stars form

A radio astronomer studies star-forming nebulae like Orion KL, roughly 1,300 light-years away, by capturing radio wave signatures that act as chemical fingerprints for molecules in interstellar gas clouds. These molecular clouds start near absolute zero and are far less dense than Earth's atmosphere, but they host the fundamental chemical reactions believed to build the ingredients of life.

Using the ALMA array of 66 movable antennas in Chile, researchers can resolve structures just a few astronomical units across, letting them map temperature, density, and chemical composition in cosmic nurseries that take hundreds of thousands of years to evolve.

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