Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany and the Centro de Astrobiología, part of Spain’s CSIC-INTA, have identified the largest sulfur-bearing molecule ever confirmed in interstellar space. The discovery fills a long-standing gap in astrochemistry and strengthens the link between space chemistry and the origins of life. The molecule, called 2,5-cyclohexadiene-1-thione, has 13 atoms arranged in a stable six-membered ring. It was detected inside a dense molecular cloud near the center of the Milky Way, about 27,000 light-years from Earth. Until now, sulfur compounds found in space were much smaller, usually fewer than six atoms. “This is the first unambiguous detection of a complex, ring-shaped sulfur-containing molecule in interstellar space and a crucial step toward understanding the chemical link between space and the building blocks of life,” said Mitsunori Araki, a scientist at the Max Planck Institute and lead author of the study. The cloud, known as G+0.693-0.027, sits near the Galactic Center and has become a hotspot for complex molecule discoveries. It contains no stars, yet it shows surprisingly rich …