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    Radio telescopes help scientists map molecules in space and uncover where and how stars form

    August 21, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The Orion Nebula with pink and purple gas and brown dust.
    The Orion Nebula, captured in visible light by the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

    You may have heard the phrase “we are made of star-stuff.” This statement by the astronomer Carl Sagan refers to the fact that elements heavier than hydrogen and helium were forged in the centers of the first stars. But how does this star-stuff evolve into the chemistry of rocks, plants and people?

    As an astrochemist and radio astronomer, I study the places in the universe where stars are born as interstellar laboratories. I’m interested in how simple ingredients come together to form bigger and bigger molecules, including those that are building blocks of life...

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