The Rhythm of the Spheres

What is happening inside this unusual nebula? Planetary nebula Tc 1 , captured here in exquisite detail by the James Webb Space Telescope , is the celestial site where buckyballs were first identified in 2010. Buckminsterfullerene — as buckyballs are officially called — is a molecule with 60 carbon atoms (C 60 ) arranged in the shape of a soccer ball . The molecule is named for architect Buckminster Fuller because of its resemblance to the geodesic dome he helped popularize. Webb’s new data reveal where the C 60 molecules live in this nebula, and the geometry is striking: they populate a thin spherical shell around the central star, visible here as the bright edge of the nebula’s glowing orange central region. Look closely near the nebula’s heart and a more perplexing feature emerges: a delicate structure shaped uncannily like an upside-down question mark , fitting punctuation for the many questions this nebula still poses.