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Interstellar and Circumstellar Medium

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Artist impression of fullerenes in front of a planetary nebulae.

Image Credit: Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Artist impression of fullerenes in front of a planetary nebulae.

Recently, these complex molecules (C60, C70, and other species), with a shape similar to soccer balls, have been discovered in space, after their existence was predicted in the 1980s, and current research reveals their presence in more and more environments.