This is the first time buckyballs are off Earth

Jul 23, 2010 06:43 GMT  ·  By
Spitzer reveals the existence of buckyballs in space for the first time ever
   Spitzer reveals the existence of buckyballs in space for the first time ever

A group of investigators announced recently that they managed to collect incontroversial evidence that a special type of carbon molecules – called buckyballs – exists in space. Experts have hypothesized that this is the case for many years, but it's only now that actual observations managed to confirm the theories. The data was collected using the American space agency's Spitzer telescope, an infrared observatory especially suited for such investigations.

The discovery of buckyballs took place less than three decades ago. They were discovered in the lab, and were named after the geodesic domes that were a trademark of architect Buckminster Fuller. These structures sported a series of interlocking circles on their surfaces, but were spheres only in part. The same part was found on some carbon molecules as well. Since then, these particular elements have become the subject of numerous studies, carried out by research teams in laboratories around the world.

“We found what are now the largest molecules known to exist in space. We are particularly excited because they have unique properties that make them important players for all sorts of physical and chemical processes going on in space,” explains University of Western Ontario astronomer Jan Cami. The scientist also holds an appointment at the Mountain View, California-based SETI Institute. He is also the author of a new paper detailing the discovery, which was published online in the July 22 issue of the esteemed journal Science.

Experts from the Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, and the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale at the CNRS/Universite Paris-Sud, in France, also contributed to the work. The group used Spitzer to peer into the heart of the planetary nebula Tc1. The scientists found that the stellar remnant featured the 70-atom molecules inside its clouds, heated to a temperature high enough for the telescope to detect. “We did not plan for this discovery. But when we saw these whopping spectral signatures, we knew immediately that we were looking at one of the most sought-after molecules,” Cami reveals. He adds that the molecules will become too cold to allow for detection within just a century.

“This most exciting breakthrough provides convincing evidence that the buckyball has, as I long suspected, existed since time immemorial in the dark recesses of our galaxy,” says Sir Harry Kroto, the winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize in chemistry. He shared his honors with colleagues Bob Curl and Rick Smalley. The trio was awarded the accolades for the discovery of buckyballs.