Astronomers Found A Cloud In Space That Tastes Like Raspberries

It is floating near the centre of our galaxy, and the science behind it is oddly delicious.

Deep toward the middle of our galaxy drifts an enormous cloud of gas and dust, and hidden inside it is a chemical that also happens to give raspberries part of their flavour. Space, it turns out, has a pantry.

Astronomers do not taste these clouds, obviously. They read the light passing through them, because every molecule leaves its own fingerprint on that light. From those fingerprints they can name the ingredients floating in the dark.

This particular molecule is one of countless organic compounds forming in the cold gaps between stars. The same building blocks that make up flavours and smells here on Earth are quietly assembling themselves out there too.

It is a lovely thought to sit with. The raw materials of life, and even of a summer fruit, are scattered across the galaxy in vast invisible clouds. The universe is not just huge and cold. Sometimes it is unexpectedly sweet.