Page "Astrochemistry" Paragraph 1

One particularly important experimental tool in astrochemistry is spectroscopy, the use of telescopes to measure the absorption and emission of light from molecules and atoms in various environments.

By comparing astronomical observations with laboratory measurements, astrochemists can infer the elemental abundances, chemical composition, and temperatures of stars and interstellar clouds.

This is possible because ions, atoms, and molecules have characteristic spectra: that is, the absorption and emission of certain wavelengths ( colors ) of light, often not visible to the human eye.

However, these measurements have limitations, with various types of radiation ( radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet etc.

) able to detect only certain types of species, depending on the chemical properties of the molecules.

Interstellar formaldehyde was the first polyatomic organic molecule detected in the interstellar medium.