Fifteen years after Western University astronomers first discovered "buckyballs" (soccer ball-shaped molecules) in space, they are back with stunning images and rich data generated using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) – the most powerful space telescope ever built.
The Soccer Ball Molecules
The team led by Jan Cami, a physics and astronomy professor, first detected buckyballs using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in 2010. This fantastic find came from the planetary nebula Tc 1, formed from a dying star more than 10,000 light-years away in the constellation Ara.
These molecules, containing 60 perfectly arranged carbon atoms (C60), were first synthesized in 1985 at the University of Sussex by Sir Harry Kroto and his colleagues — a breakthrough that earned the 1996 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Kroto named the molecule "buckminsterfullerene" after famed architect Buckminster Fuller, who designed geodesic domes which share the same structural principles.
Illustrations depicting how buckyballs are arranged in hexagons and pentagons. Credit: Western Communications
While Kroto immediately predicted that buckyballs would be abundant throughout the cosmos, it took Jan Cami and his collaborators another 25 years to prove them right.
A Masterpiece of Tc 1
Armed with data from JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), the Western team has captured the first-ever detailed view of the planetary nebula Tc 1. The result is spectacular.
Planetary nebula Tc 1 as observed by JWST’s MIRI instrument (combining nine filters from 5.6 to 25.5 microns). Blue tones represent hotter gas; red tones trace cooler material. Processed by Katelyn Beecroft. Credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Western University, J. Cami
The image reveals delicate rays, wispy filaments, and shimmering shells of gas. At the heart of the nebula, an ethereal feature resembling an upside-down question mark hints at the complexity still waiting to be understood.
"Tc 1 was already extraordinary, but this new image shows us we had only scratched the surface. The structures we’re seeing now are breathtaking," said Professor Cami.
Beauty in the Details: Chemical Fingerprints
The MIRI instrument can record the chemical fingerprint of the gas and dust at every point across the nebula. This technique allows scientists to map the temperature, density, chemical composition, and motions of the gas.
"Structures that were completely invisible to us are now laid out with stunning clarity," said Charmi Bhatt, a PhD candidate. "We can now connect everything we see morphologically in the image directly to the chemistry and physics happening throughout the nebula."
Early revelations include the three-dimensional distribution of the buckyballs. Researchers found they are concentrated in a thin spherical shell surrounding the central star. Funnily enough, these microscopic hollow spheres are distributed in the shape of a hollow sphere as well — buckyballs arranged like one giant buckyball.
A Cosmic Mystery. Discovering buckyballs helps scientists track carbon chemistry and understand how organic materials change in extreme environments, offering clues about how life may have begun. Multiple papers describing the landmark scientific results from this JWST dataset are currently in preparation.
Source: Western University News
