Dimethyl ether found in a planet-forming disc for the first time

Astronomers have detected dimethyl ether in a planet-forming disc for the first time. A precursor of larger organic molecules that can spur life, dimethyl ether is the largest molecule identified yet in a protoplanetary disc – a rotating cloud of gas, dust and ice that develops around a newly forming star and eventually forms planets.

The discovery was made by researchers at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands using the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (Alma) telescope located in Chile, which is sensitive to light just beyond the infrared. The team also made the first-ever detection in a protoplanetary disc of nitric oxide and the tentative discovery of methyl formate, a complex molecule similar to dimethyl ether that is also a building block for larger organic molecules.