Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2018

52 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 SPACE CHRONICLES into the surround- ing nebula. These observations also show that in the regions where this water is slam- ming into the sur- rounding gas, low- frequency water masers — naturally occurring micro- wave versions of lasers — flare up. The masers were detected in com- plementary obser- vations by the Na- tional Science Foun- dation’s Very Large Array. In addition to making striking images of objects in space, ALMA is also a supremely sensi- tive cosmic chemi- cal sensor. As mole- cules tumble and vibrate in space, they naturally emit light at specific wavelengths, which appear as spikes and dips on a spec- trum. All of ALMA’s re- ceiver bands can de- tect these unique spectral finger- prints, but those lines at the highest frequencies offer unique insight into lighter, important chemicals, like heavy water. They also provide the ability to see signals from com- plex, warm molecules, which have weaker spectral lines at lower fre- quencies. Using Band 10, the re- searchers were able to observe a region of the spectrum that is ex- traordinarily rich in molecular fin- gerprints, including glycoaldehyde, massive star-forming region,” saidMcGuire. “These results have been received with excitement by the as- tronomical commu- nity and show once again how ALMA will reshape our un- derstanding of the universe.” ALMA is able to take advantage of these rare windows of op- portunity when the atmospheric condi- tions are “just right” by using dynamic scheduling. That means, the tele- scope operators and astronomers care- fully monitor the weather and conduct those planned obser- vations that best fit the prevailing con- ditions. “There cer- tainly are quite a few conditions that have to be met to conduct a successful observa- tion using Band 10,” concluded Brogan. “But these new ALMA results demon- strate just how im- portant these obser- vations can be.” “To remain at the forefront of discov- ery, observatories must continuously innovate to drive the leading edge of what astron- omy can accomplish,” said Joe Pesce, the program director for the National Radio Astronomy Observa- tory at NSF. “That is a core element of NSF’s NRAO, and its ALMA tele- scope, and this discovery pushes the limit of what is possible through ground-based astronomy.” C omposite ALMA image of NGC 6334I, a star-forming region in the Cat’s Paw Nebula, taken with the Band 10 receivers, ALMA’s highest- frequency vision. The blue component is heavy water (HDO) streaming away from either a single protostar or a small cluster of protostars. The orange region is the “continuum emission” in the same region, which sci- entists found is extraordinarily rich in molecular fingerprints, including glycoaldehyde, the simplest sugar-related molecule. [ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/ NRAO): NRAO/AUI/NSF, B. Saxton] ! the simplest sugar-related molecule. When compared to previous best- in-the-world observations of the same source with the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Ob- servatory, the ALMA observations detected more than ten times as many spectral lines. “We detected a wealth of complex organic molecules surrounding this