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XX Ophiuchi
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NASA's Spitzer Finds Solid Buckyballs in Space

Astronomers using data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have, for the first time, discovered buckyballs in a solid form in space. Prior to this discovery, the microscopic carbon spheres had been found only in gas form in the cosmos.
Formally named buckministerfullerene, buckyballs are named after their resemblance to the late architect Buckminster Fuller's geodesic domes. They are made up of 60 carbon molecules arranged into a hollow sphere, like a soccer ball. Their unusual structure makes them ideal candidates for electrical and chemical applications on Earth, including superconducting materials, medicines, water purification and armour.
In the latest discovery, scientists using Spitzer detected tiny specks of matter, or particles, consisting of stacked buckyballs. They found the particles around a pair of stars called "XX Ophiuchi," 6,500 light-years from Earth, and detected enough to fill the equivalent in volume to 10,000 Mount Everests.

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Title: Solid-phase C_60 in the peculiar binary XX Oph?
Authors: A. Evans, J. Th. van Loon (Keele University), C. E. Woodward, R. D. Gehrz, L. A. Helton (University of Minnesota), G. C. Clayton (Louisiana State University), M. T. Rushton, S. P. S. Eyres (University of Central Lancashire), J. Krautter (Landessternwarte Heidelberg), S. Starrfield (Arizona State University), R. M. Wagner (Large Binocular Telescope)

We present infrared spectra of the binary XX Oph obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The data show some evidence for the presence of solid C_60 - the first detection of C_60 in the solid phase - together with the well-known "Unidentified Infrared" emission features. We suggest that, in the case of XX Oph, the C_60 is located close to the hot component, and that in general it is preferentially excited by stars having effective temperatures in the range 15,000 - 30,000K. C_60 may be common in circumstellar environments, but un-noticed in the absence of a suitable exciting source.

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