Lifeboat Foundation

After a long search, a cosmic mystery has an answer. Astronomers have made the very first unambiguous detection of a radioactive molecule in space — an isotope of aluminium, found in the heart of a rare nova.

Scientists have long been searching for ²⁶ AlF — or Aluminium monofluoride — containing ²⁶ Al, but a direct observation has been exceptionally illusive.

We’ve known about the presence of ²⁶ Al in space for decades. In 1984, NASA’s HEAO 3 satellite data was used to identify gamma-ray radiation originating from the beta decay of the isotope. According to these observations, there’s roughly two solar masses of ²⁶ Al in the Milky Way.