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In a study that pushed quantum mechanical theory and research capabilities to the limit, University of Arizona researchers have found a way to see the molecule that likely made the universe - or at least the hot and fiery bits of it. Lurking in the vast, chilly regions between stars, the unassuming molecule known as a triatomic hydrogen ion, or H3 , may hold secrets of the formation of the first stars after the Big Bang. At the University of Arizona, then doctoral candidate Michele Pavanello spent months doing painstaking calculations to find a way to spot H3 and unveil its pivotal role in astronomy and spectroscopy, supervised by Ludwik Adamowicz, a professor in the UA’s department of chemistry and biochemistry. The groundbreaking results have been published in a recent edition of Physical Review Letters. “Most of the universe consists of hydrogen in various forms,” said Adamowicz, “but the H3 ion is the most prevalent molecular ion in interstellar space. It’s also one of the most important molecules in existence.”