Astronomers discover planet made of diamond


Recommended Posts

(Reuters) - Astronomers have spotted an exotic planet that seems to be made of diamond racing around a tiny star in our galactic backyard.

The new planet is far denser than any other known so far and consists largely of carbon. Because it is so dense, scientists calculate the carbon must be crystalline, so a large part of this strange world will effectively be diamond.

"The evolutionary history and amazing density of the planet all suggest it is comprised of carbon -- i.e. a massive diamond orbiting a neutron star every two hours in an orbit so tight it would fit inside our own Sun," said Matthew Bailes of Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.

Lying 4,000 light years away, or around an eighth of the way toward the center of the Milky Way from the Earth, the planet is probably the remnant of a once-massive star that has lost its outer layers to the so-called pulsar star it orbits.

Pulsars are tiny, dead neutron stars that are only around 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) in diameter and spin hundreds of times a second, emitting beams of radiation.

In the case of pulsar J1719-1438, the beams regularly sweep the Earth and have been monitored by telescopes in Australia, Britain and Hawaii, allowing astronomers to detect modulations due to the gravitational pull of its unseen companion planet.

The measurements suggest the planet, which orbits its star every two hours and 10 minutes, has slightly more mass than Jupiter but is 20 times as dense, Bailes and colleagues reported in the journal Science on Thursday.

In addition to carbon, the new planet is also likely to contain oxygen, which may be more prevalent at the surface and is probably increasingly rare toward the carbon-rich center.

Its high density suggests the lighter elements of hydrogen and helium, which are the main constituents of gas giants like Jupiter, are not present.

Just what this weird diamond world is actually like close up, however, is a mystery.

"In terms of what it would look like, I don't know I could even speculate," said Ben Stappers of the University of Manchester. "I don't imagine that a picture of a very shiny object is what we're looking at here."

source

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mah bling! I'll bet rarity would wanna move to that planet but spike would gobble it up though. he follows rarity around all the time:

he loves gems....

Spike_troll.png

spike is happy!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess those resources on earth aren't so rare ;) As long as we could gather that planet lol

If we could travel at near light speed and had the ability to collect it right now (it weighs more than Jupiter, any technology we have currently would be crushed by it's gravity), and nothing went wrong, we could expect to start getting those resources back to Earth in about 8000 years.

Anyway, carbon alone isn't that valuable. What we really need is a plentiful supply of hydrocarbons (and a lot sooner than 8000 years)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If we could travel at near light speed and had the ability to collect it right now (it weighs more than Jupiter, any technology we have currently would be crushed by it's gravity), and nothing went wrong, we could expect to start getting those resources back to Earth in about 8000 years.

Anyway, carbon alone isn't that valuable. What we really need is a plentiful supply of hydrocarbons (and a lot sooner than 8000 years)

Really. Hydrocarbons. So I guess we need the climate to become more extreme before you stop burning hydrocarbons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bet if I gave my wife a planet of diamonds I would get some tonight. :p

I would hope a planet of diamonds would be good for a few nights of "getting some"!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bet if I gave my wife a planet of diamonds I would get some tonight. :p

Now that is a stretch and fabrication if I ever heard one, try two planets, and then you would get a maybe. :rofl:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.