Abstract
ALTHOUGH several transitions of formaldehyde have been observed in interstellar space1–7, there has been only one prior report of an observation of the 312–313 transition3. An energy level diagram of the lower rotational levels indicating the transitions that have been detected is given in Fig. 1. The ΔJ=1 transitions are seen in emission. The ΔJ=0 transitions are seen in absorption and emission7–9 with a trend for the higher J transitions to be seen in emission (additional confirmation of this is provided by the unpublished work of B. Turner who has seen the 413–414 transition in emission). Here we report emission from the 312–313 transition at 28.975 GHz in Sagittarius A (Sgr A).
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MCCUTCHEON, W., SHUTER, W. Observation of the 312–313 transition of interstellar formaldehyde. Nature 251, 123–124 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/251123a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/251123a0
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