Scientists have speculated that the cloud would have an unusual smell due to the presence of ethyl formate – which is what gives raspberries their flavour – and this could smell like raspberry rum
A giant cloud at the centre of the galaxy is chock-block with enough booze to make up trillions of pints. Sagittarius B2 has a diameter over 1,000 times the size of our solar system and is loaded up with 400 quintillion litres of alcohol.
It has a mass around three million times the mass of the Sun and is the largest molecular cloud of its type near the centre of the Milky Way. However, this booze-addled utopia is unlikely to be the saviour of the Guinness shortage – ignoring the obvious distance issue – because it is also laced with chemicals such as carbon monoxide and ammonia, meaning one of those trillions of pints would be your last.
That, and the alcohol itself contains ethanol, vinyl alcohol, and methanol, the latter of which is known to cause blindness or even death.
Scientists have also speculated that the cloud would have an unusual smell due to the presence of ethyl formate – which is what gives raspberries their flavour – which means it could smell like raspberry rum. This, however, comes with a catch too because the density of the gas cloud is relatively low compared to what the human body can detect, so even if you did make it there you likely wouldn’t be able to smell it anyway.
Despite the hurdles, the existence of the cloud – the core of which is thought to have a luminosity of around 10 million times that of the Sun – offers scientists an interesting insight into the interaction of chemicals in space.
Even if a bold booze lover did somehow manage to get to this alcohol Mecca, the temperatures there would take the edge off your pint experience, ranging from between 27C and -233C, according to a study published in Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
On Reddit, people have reacted to the prospect of the galaxy’s biggest booze reserve, with one person saying: “Why do I get the feeling the effect of drinking this would be like having your brain smashed out with a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.”
Another quipped: “Bender from Futurama would love to hear about this,” while another noted: “Welp, let’s pack it up. Party is over there!”