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Spanish Astronomers Find First Interstellar Sugar, Erythrulose

7/17/2026

Summary

Spanish Astronomers Find Sugar

Astronomers in Spain detected erythrulose in a molecular cloud, the first true sugar found in interstellar space.
The discovery was published in Nature Astronomy on July 13, 2026.
Lead author Izaskun Jiménez-Serra of the Center for Astrobiology in Madrid said the finding proves sugars form naturally in space.
Co-author Carlos Briones said the result raises the chance of finding other essential molecules like ribose in similar clouds.

Summary

MeerKAT Maps Molecules

African facilities such as South Africa’s MeerKAT telescope can extend the search for prebiotic molecules into the southern sky.
MeerKAT, a core part of the Square Kilometre Array, will work with European observatories to map life-building compounds across the Milky Way.
Scientists tie the 4 billion-old Late Heavy Bombardment to dust that may have delivered sugars like erythrulose, which Professor Mark Sephton says survived in asteroidal material and reached Earth.

Summary

Cocinero Detects Sugar

Researchers estimate that 0.5 million–50 million metric tons of erythrulose may have arrived on Earth during the Late Heavy Bombardment.
Chemist Emilio Cocinero’s laboratory rotational spectra allowed the astronomy team to identify the sugar.
Twelve spectral lines matched using Spain’s Yebes 40-m and IRAM 30-m radio telescopes, confirming the detection.
Astrochemist Brett McGuire of MIT participated in the analysis, underscoring the project’s international collaboration.

History

Historical Context

The first interstellar sugar, glycolaldehyde, was identified in 2000 toward Sagittarius B2(N), confirming that prebiotic molecules exist in molecular clouds. Building on that result, Spain’s Center for Astrobiology and South Africa’s MeerKAT array reported erythrulose in the Galactic-Center cloud G+0.693-0.027 in July 2026, reinforcing theories that sugars could have been delivered to early Earth.

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Spanish Astronomers Find Sugar

Astronomers in Spain detected erythrulose in a molecular cloud, the first true sugar found in interstellar space.
The discovery was published in Nature Astronomy on July 13, 2026.
Lead author Izaskun Jiménez-Serra of the Center for Astrobiology in Madrid said the finding proves sugars form naturally in space.
Co-author Carlos Briones said the result raises the chance of finding other essential molecules like ribose in similar clouds.

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