For the first time, astronomers have detected the presence of CH+ — an ion of the CH molecule known as methylidynium to chemists — in distant starburst galaxies. This image shows how gas falling into distant starburst galaxies ends up in vast turbulent reservoirs of cool gas extending 30,000 light-years from the central regions. Image credit: L. Benassi / ESO. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international...
