The radio telescopes exploring our universe
How astrochemists are identifying molecules light-years away from Earth
In 1609, Galileo used his improved version of an early telescope design to show the planets in our solar system revolve around the Sun. Today, some of the most powerful Earth-based telescopes no longer rely on optics. Instead, they detect radiowaves emitted by the clouds of gas and dust from which stars are born. For example, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) – a cluster of 66 movable 12m and 7m radiotelescopes in Chile – has detected oxygen in a galaxy over 13 billion light years away. And although today’s astrochemists have tools with magnification powers beyond Galileo’s wildest dreams, they are still answering equally fundamental questions: How did the universe form? How do planets form? Why does Earth have water? How did life form here? And are we alone in the galaxy?