Planet Made of Diamonds Discovered 4,000 Light Years Away
In what can be called a "gem of a discovery," astronomers at the University of Manchester found a rare planet made of diamonds, which orbits a pulsar about 4,000 light years from Earth in the constellation Serpens. The astronomers from Australia, Germany, Italy, the UK and the U.S. used the Parkes 64-meter radio telescope in western New South Wales to find the carbon-based planet, which is denser than any other discovered so far. A diamond forms when carbon is put under immense pressure. As the planet largely consists of carbon, scientists speculate that the conditions are right for the carbon within it to be crystallized -- in other words, a giant celestial diamond -- and believe it to be completely made of diamond. The diamond planet measures up to 60,000 km across, is about five time Earth's diameter and about 300 time heavier, as indicated by the astronomers' measurements. It is believed to be the remnant of a once-massive star that lost its outer layer...
