: Astronomy: formaldehyde

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formaldehyde

Formaldehyde (systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula CH₂O and structure H−CHO. The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde, hence it is stored as an aqueous solution (formalin), which is also used to store animal specimens. It is the simplest of the aldehydes (R−CHO). The common name of this substance comes from its similarity and relation to formic acid. Formaldehyde appears to be a useful probe in astrochemistry due to prominence of the 1₁₀ ← 1₁₁ and 2₁₁ ← 2₁₂ K-doublet transitions. It was the first polyatomic organic molecule detected in the interstellar medium. Since its initial detection in 1969, it has been observed in many regions of the galaxy. Because of the widespread interest in interstellar formaldehyde, it has been extensively studied, yielding new extragalactic sources. (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formaldehyde)

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