In some ways, life can be thought of as the ultimate in chemical complexity, the presence of C60 unequivocally demonstrates a high level of chemical complexity intrinsic to space environments, and points toward a strong likelihood for other extremely complex, carbon-bearing molecules arising spontaneously in space.

Martin Cordiner

Categorized in : Top News

The diffuse ISM can be considered as the starting point for the chemical processes that ultimately give rise to planets and life, so fully identifying its contents provides information on the ingredients available to create stars and planets.

Martin Cordiner

The diffuse ISM was historically considered too harsh and tenuous an environment for appreciable abundances of large molecules to occur, prior to the detection of C60, the largest known molecules in space were only 12 atoms in size. Our confirmation of C60 + shows just how complex astrochemistry can get, even in the lowest density, most strongly ultraviolet-irradiated environments in the Galaxy.

Martin Cordiner