The 100-Year Mystery of the Diffuse Interstellar Bands

The video explores the mystery of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs), patterns of light in space that don't match any known atom or molecule. Discovered in 1919 by Mary Lea Heger, these bands have puzzled scientists for nearly a century. In 2015, a breakthrough linked one DIB to buckminsterfullerene, a carbon molecule. Despite this, many DIBs remain unexplained, with researchers focusing on carbon-based molecules as potential sources. The process is slow due to the complexity of recreating space conditions in labs, but each new DIB hints at undiscovered molecules in the cosmos.

How do researchers believe DIBs are formed in the universe?

What challenges do scientists face in matching molecules with DIBs?