Buckyballs in space

Sounds like the title of a cheesy sci-fi movie, doesn’t it? Buckyballs (short for “buckminsterfullerenes”) are the largest molecules that we know of, and just last year they were discovered for the first time in space. Based on their properties, astronomers predicted that buckyballs would exist in certain environments in space and not in others. However, a group using the Spitzer Space Telescope has found precisely the opposite. This is why observation and experiment are so important in science.

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2 thoughts on “Buckyballs in space

  1. “This is why observation and experiment are so important in science.”

    Simply cannot be stated enough. Empirical evidence is crucial to our understanding the universe.

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