Life on Earth relies on chiral molecules, that is, species not superimposable on their mirror images. This manifests itself in the selection of a single molecular handedness, or homochirality, across the biosphere. We present the astronomical detection of a chiral molecule, propylene oxide (CH3CHCH2O), in absorption toward the Galactic Center. Propylene oxide is detected in the gas phase in a cold, extended molecular shell around the embedded, massive protostellar clusters in the Sagittarius B2 star-forming region. This material is representative of the earliest stage of solar system evolution in which a chiral molecule has been found.
@article{arxiv.1606.07483,
title = {Discovery of the Interstellar Chiral Molecule Propylene Oxide (CH$_3$CHCH$_2$O)},
author = {Brett A. McGuire and P. Brandon Carroll and Ryan A. Loomis and Ian A. Finneran and Philip R. Jewell and Anthony J. Remijan and Geoffrey A. Blake},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1606.07483},
year = {2016}
}