NASA has finally found proof of the first molecule in the universe

NASA used its Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) to detect the primordial molecule. Scientists found it in NGC 7027, a planetary nebula (the rest of a star similar to that of the Sun) located 3,000 light-years apart. The discovery proves that helium hydride can exist in space and confirms the theories about the chemistry of the early universe and its evolution. The results were published in Nature this week.

This discovery also demonstrates the power of NASA's latest technology. SOFIA is the largest airborne observatory in the world. This is a modified Boeing 747SP airliner, which returns after each flight. This allows NASA to add new tools as soon as they are available. A recent upgrade of SOFIA's Receiver at Terahertz Frequencies (GREAT) instruments in Germany made this discovery possible. Scientists were able to adjust the frequency of the molecule and search for it in NGC 7027, where they expected it to have existed since the 1970s. As Harold Yorke, director of the SOFIA Science Center, said in a statement press, the molecule was hiding, we just needed the right instruments to find it.