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They knew it had to exist, but they just couldn’t find evidence of it. Now, after decades of searching, astrophysicists have found verification of the first molecule that formed minutes after the Big Bang.

The helium hydride ion (HeH+) the scientists detected wasn’t the original one created just after the Big Bang, but it has the same molecular structure — helium combined with hydrogen — they theorized formed at the time.

“For the first time, we’ve detected the same type of molecule in a nearby nebula,” said David Neufeld, co-author of the study in the journal Nature, who’s a professor and astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

“And it’s exciting, because it’s the first time it’s ever been seen in space.”