SPACE — The Hubble Space Telescope have identified electrically-charged molecules in space that are shaped like soccer balls. <br /><br />According to NASA, Buckminsterfullerene or Buckyballs, are molecules made of 60 carbon atoms arranged in a hollow sphere, in the rough shape of a soccer ball.<br /><br />Buckyballs, which are also called C60, has been found on Earth in some rare cases, in rocks and minerals or in soot created from high-temperature combustion.<br /><br />Though Buckyballs have been seen in space before, scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope recently discovered for the first time ionized C60 within the interstellar medium or ISM.<br /><br />The C60 becomes ionized when ultraviolet light from stars strips off an electron from the molecule, giving it a positive charge.<br /><br />The ISM is the diffuse matter and radiation that exists in between solar systems, which was previously considered too harsh an environment to sustain complex carbon-based molecules.<br /><br />Though most of it contains helium and hydrogen, it contains many other compounds that have not been identified.<br /><br />Researchers say they will continue searching the universe to see where else they can locate C60+. The Epoch Times reports that at the moment, observations seem to be pointing to a widespread presence in the Milky Way.
