A fantastic new discovery has given astronomy an unexpected window into the formation of life-precursor molecules in an environment significantly different from our galaxy, the Milky Way. Scientists report the first-ever detection of Complex Organic Molecules (COMs) – potential "building blocks" of life – in ice outside of our galaxy. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

The detection comes from the surroundings of a young star called ST6 located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the largest of the satellite galaxies that orbit the Milky Way. It's so large and close that it can be seen with the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere.

This is the first detection of COMs larger than 6 atoms in ices (in ice mantles on dus

See Full Page