hydroxylamine

Have astronomers found chemical precursor to life in gas clouds?

January 14, 2013

The hydroxylamine molecule is believed to have had a vital role in cooling down the first stars of the universe, and may still play an important part in the formation of current stars. Above, new stars burst into being in the star-forming nebula Messier 78, imaged by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. (Credit:: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Astronomers have found tentative traces of a precursor chemical to the building blocks of life near a star-forming region about 1,000 light-years from Earth, Space.com reports.