H2+ tagged posts

Scientists discover new sources for ‘the molecule that made the universe’

MSU scientists discover new sources for 'the molecule that made the universe'
A star-forming region in the Tarantula Nebula as captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. MSU researchers have recently uncovered alternative sources of the molecule H₃⁺, which plays a crucial role in the birth of stars and other cosmic chemistry. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team

From helping catalyze interstellar reactions and fueling the birth of stars to its presence in neighborhood gas giants like Saturn and Jupiter, trihydrogen, or H3+, is best known as the “the molecule that made the universe.”

While we have a clear picture of how the majority of H3+ is formed—a hydrogen molecule, or H2, colliding with its ionized counterpart, H2+—scientists are keen to understand alternative sources of H3+ and to better measure its abundance throughout the cosmos...

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