FTA: "This molecule was lurking out there, but we needed the right instruments making observations in the right position — and SOFIA was able to do that perfectly."
Helium hydride was long thought to be the first molecule in the Universe, but we'd never been able to detect its natural presence in space before. At long last, we have proof of its existence, and with it, further confirmation of our picture of how the Universe came to be the way it is today.