ALMA detects fully deuterated methanol in space for the first time

Astronomers have detected fully deuterated methanol (CD₃OD) in the interstellar medium for the first time, around the protostar IRAS 4A2 in the Perseus molecular cloud about 1,000 light-years away. The find comes from the ALMA COMPASS Large Program, which spent over 100 hours surveying eleven young Sun-like stars.

• CD₃OD has all four hydrogen atoms replaced by deuterium, the heaviest form of methanol
• Observations used ALMA's 66 antennas in Chile's Atacama Desert at 5,000 m altitude
• The COMPASS program covered 11 protostars and about 33 GHz of bandwidth in one pass
• Sensitivity is more than ten times greater than earlier surveys