Hydrogen cyanide in a still unborn massive star
![](https://cdn.sci.esa.int/documents/33704/35439/1567219807187-i_screenimage_28075.jpg)
Underneath is the spectrum of the massive protostar. The spectrum of an object tells how the object absorbs or emits light depending on its chemical composition, thus the spectrum is a type of 'chemical fingerprint'. In this case, the fingerprint points to hydrogen cyanide in the spectrum of the protostar. This spectrum was obtained with the MPIfR/SRON heterodyne spectrometer on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. This spectrometer has a very high spectral resolving power and a state-of-the-art sensitivity. It is a 'test-bed' for HIFI, one of the instruments on board ESA's Herschel Space Observatory, due to be launched in 2007.
Last Update: 1 September 2019