The result is important for understanding the chemistry in large interstellar clouds where new stars are formed, and the processes behind star formation.
Astrochemists have long argued that the Life molecules, water (H2O) and oxygen (O2), are highly abundant in the denser regions of the interstellar medium. One of the primary goals of the Odin astronomy mission was to use spectral line data from molecular oxygen (O2) and water H2O) to study processes of star formation. Models at the time predicted that these molecules would be abundant enough to assist the formation of stars by radiating away excess energy produced when clouds collapse to form new stars. The cloud collapse results in compression of the gas which is therefore heated. Unless this excess heat can be radiated away stars will not be able to form. Many attempts have been made from the ground, balloons and space to detect O2 but have, until now, all failed. Molecular oxygen has now finally, for the first time, been detected by a group of scientists from Sweden, Canada, Finland and France. The molecule was found in a dense (astronomically speaking) gas cloud (called rho Oph A) in the constellation of Ophiuchus at a distance of about 500 light years. The O2 abundance is a thousand times lower than can be explained by today's chemical models. This discovery is important as it will lead to new insight into the complex development of interstellar clouds forming stars and planets.
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