image: Dust and molecules in the central region of our Galaxy: The background image shows the dust emission in a combination of data obtained with the APEX telescope and the Planck space observatory at a wavelength around 860 micrometers. The organic molecule iso-propyl cyanide with a branched carbon backbone (i-C3H7CN, left) as well as its straight-chain isomer normal-propyl cyanide (n-C3H7CN, right) were both detected with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in the star-forming region Sgr B2, about 300 light years away from the Galactic center Sgr A*. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the 26 Sept., issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by A. Belloche at at Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie in Bonn, Germany, and colleagues was titled, "Detection of a branched alkyl molecule in the interstellar medium: i-propyl cyanide." view more
Credit: [Credit: MPIfR/A. Weiß (background image), University of Cologne/M. Koerber (molecular models), MPIfR/A. Belloche (montage)]