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(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
Scientists have long been puzzled by the existence of so-called "buckyballs"—complex carbon molecules with a soccer-ball-like structure—throughout interstellar space. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Arizona has proposed a mechanism for their formation. The scientists suggest that buckyballs are derived from the silicon carbide dust made by dying stars, which is then hit by high temperatures, shock waves, and high-energy particles, leeching silicon from the surface and leaving carbon behind.
