July 22, 2010 J.D. Harrington Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241 j.d.harrington@nasa.gov Whitney Clavin NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-4673
whitney.clavin@jpl.nasa.gov RELEASE: 10-174 NASA TELESCOPE FINDS
ELUSIVE BUCKYBALLS IN SPACE FOR FIRST TIME WASHINGTON --
Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered
carbon molecules, known as "buckyballs," in space for the first
time. Buckyballs are soccer-ball-shaped molecules that were
first observed in a laboratory 25 years ago. They are named for
their resemblance to architect Buckminster Fuller's geodesic
domes, which have interlocking circles on the surface of a
partial sphere. Buckyballs were thought to float around in
space, but had escaped detection until now. "We found what are
now the largest molecules known to exist in space," said
astronomer Jan Cami of the University of Western Ontario,
Canada, and the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif. "We are
particularly excited because they have unique properties