Astronomers Reveal Planet Is Made Of Diamond

[IDemo]

Source: Sky.com

A planet about 40 light years away and twice the size of Earth is made largely out of diamond, astronomers have said.

The rocky planet, called 55 Cancri e, is orbiting a sun-like star that is visible with the naked eye.

It is in the constellation of Cancer and is moving so fast that a year there lasts a mere 18 hours.

Discovered by a US-Franco research team, the planet’s radius is twice that of Earth's and its mass eight times greater. Temperatures on its surface reach 3,900 degrees Fahrenheit (1,648 Celsius).

Read more: http://news.sky.com/story/996444/astronomers-reveal-planet-is-made-of-diamond

[itsrobert]

1. I would change the name to "Lucy"

n/t

[DavidL]

10. +10000 Good one!..and...

And if it had 4 moons, name them John, Paul, George, and Ringo

[burrowowl]

58. I think they should too!

[LeftinOH]

2. Prediction: DeBeers, Inc. is going to find a way to buy that planet...

[justabob]

4. +1

De Beers is the first thing that came to mind reading the headline.

[torotoro]

11. Correction: Corporate Welfared by the American Taxpayer

[Downtown Hound]

14. Apparently, this planet is a girl's best friend. n/t

[AAO]

30. Also, a man's best friend...

40 light years away from the mother-in-law!

[kas125]

35. Some girls maybe, but -

[Myrina]

41. +100 Brazillion

Without a doubt.

[Jack Rabbit]

39. If Tiffany's gets it, Newt will get it for Callista on his credit card.

!!

[politicaljack78]

59. I was thinking the same thing.

Wouldn't want the price of shiny common carbon all of a sudden plummeting and hurting the bottom line of the company and their wallets.

So sad that people are dying to mine this in Africa, yet this company owns vast quantities of diamonds in other nations and does not release them to keep profiteering at a max.

[djean111]

3. The Koch brothers are likely working on a space ship right now.

And yeah, DeBeers would want the planet - their wealth depends on diamonds being scarce.

Thanks for the pic of Marilyn - that is one of my favorite movies! Although I hate that Jane Russell performed the same number.

[itsrobert]

7. I wonder if there could be a big diamond asteroid near Earth somewhere?

That might launch a new space race.

[MrBig]

16. I took "Space Law" in Law School

The professor believes that the next huge mining operations will be on asteroids which hold - according to him - trillions of dollars worth of minerals. Of course the huge legal ramifications of it all will be...who controls space? Is an asteroid an object to be owned by a corporation? According to the UN, and those who signed the space treaty, all objects in space are communal properties not to be exploited by any single country.

Lets see how long that lasts...

[Atypical Liberal]

24. It will belong to whoever has the means to defend their interests there.

Simple as that.

[MrBig]

36. Unfortunately, very very true n/t

[JackRiddler]

37. In other words: Very likely no one.

[Atypical Liberal]

47. I don't believe that at all.

I predict in the next 100 years we are going to launch swarms of robotic probes throughout the solar system, and some fraction of those are going to be go beyond exploring for exploring's sake and are going to be exploring for things to profit from.

If history is any teacher, once profit is on the line there will be people defending it, through legal or other means.

[JackRiddler]

48. Of course you don't.

[Atypical Liberal]

50. It must be my knowledge of history.

[JackRiddler]

51. Or of TV and movies with US marines in outer space.

[FiveGoodMen]

54. 80-year round trip for a photon

Much longer for anything with mass.

It'll take quite a while to exploit this one.

[Atypical Liberal]

57. Yes, I was speaking about our own solar system.

Clearly unless we figure out FTL technology we will never be visiting stars.

[lastlib]

23. some scientists have postulated that Jupiter has a diamond core....

I think Arthur C. Clarke incorporated that theory in one of the 2001: Space Odyssey sequels.

ETA: posted before I saw #12 below--(beaten to the punch!)

[Blue_Tires]

5. Inhabited by a race of sexy Amazon women?

[MNBrewer]

6. Mit has already claimed that one. That's HIS planet for when he gets one of his own.

[4th law of robotics]

8. If no one has called it already . . .

Dibs!

[The Dude]

9. Kolob?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

12. Arthur C. Clarke proposed the core of Jupiter is made of diamond....

Makes sense too. All of the methane drifting down under intense pressure and losing it's hydrogen and the remaining carbon crystallizing.

[DRoseDARs]

42. That's my thinking too: Gas giant that migrated inwards too closely and had its atmosphere stripped.

eom

[Spitfire of ATJ]

44. They're just now discovering star factories routinely spit out Jupiter like gas giants.

There's a debate as to if these are actually stars that didn't quite get enough mass to trigger natural fusion or maybe they are a waste product due to fusion production or they they could just be stray gas combinations.

[mountain grammy]

13. love the comments on this thread

one of the reasons I'm here.

[Liberalynn]

15. Cool

[Downtown Hound]

17. Even here on Earth, diamonds aren't all that rare

Just an artificially high market price based on careful manipulation by the good old free market. Not only that, but we can grow them ourselves, make a nearly flawless diamond with no imperfections, and pay LESS for that than for an impure diamond found in nature.

Diamonds are a scam. Sill, this planet would be cool to see.

[lowkell]

18. They found another Romney offshore tax haven?

LOL

[KurtNYC]

20. DUzy.

[Robb]

19. 47,788,800,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilograms of diamonds.

I love thinking about how something like that could affect market price.

Yes, it's nearly impossible to get to, 40 light years away; but consider a market value of about US $1 million per kilo. Could someone develop the technology needed with research funded by a fraction of the dollar value of the payload? Almost certainly. Startup capital!

Of course, that many diamonds would certainly cause the market value to plummet, since there is no intrinsic value to a diamond were it commonplace... of course, they are common on 55 Cancri e, aren't they? Uncomfortable line of thinking if your portfolio is DeBeers-heavy.

[jerseyjack]

21. ---but they'd better watch their asses if they have oil.

[valerief]

22. So a 10-year-old on Earth would be 4869 years old on 55 Cancri e. nt

[AlbertCat]

25. So a 10-year-old on Earth would be 4869 years old on 55 Cancri e. nt

So their creationist god made their planet .003 hours ago?

[Ikonoklast]

27. And be very warm, too.

Nice tropical breeze at 1648 C.

[christx30]

31. Yeah

But it's a dry heat

[Ikonoklast]

32. That's what everyone says who lives in a place that has a climate akin to that of the

inside of a Coking oven.



They all lie.

[hlthe2b]

26. DeBeers has launched a mission..actually probably terrified someone would.

Ahh, blood diamonds...

[Gore1FL]

28. Sol will be a giant diamond some day. n/t

[Kingofalldems]

29. I wonder if Superman had anything to do with this

[SemperEadem]

33. well, diamonds are carbon based, as is all life forms

we are all stardust!!!

Now all we need is a planet made of platinum and that'd be one hell of a ring...

[MADem]

34. If Liz Taylor were still around, she'd be launching an exploratory group... nt

[proud patriot]

38. man that's hot

[PD Turk]

40. .....

[Third Doctor]

43. I bet this willd start a new space race. I bet we'll have FTL travel in 50 years now. Just wait...

[Art_from_Ark]

45. I'm still waiting for those anyone-can-afford trips to the moon base

that they were promising 50 years *ago*

[Jim Lane]

46. I wonder what's valuable on their world.

Maybe they build skyscrapers out of diamonds but the few rare bits of iron are highly prized. Rich Cancrians go to their Oscar ceremonies wearing what would look to us like nuts and bolts, and everyone ooohs and aaahs at the display of wealth.

Oh, and there's a political message board on 55 Cancri. They're making jokes about the recent report of a distant planet that has a core made of iron.

[dipsydoodle]

53. Water

With a surface temperature that high there is none.

[rusty fender]

49. "It could only be Jared"

[sufrommich]

52. If we could actually reach a planet made of diamond,

diamonds would be as cheap as plastic.

[olddad56]

55. With my luck, when I got there, it would be made out of cubic zirconium.

[Kablooie]

56. and such a romantic name! 55 Cancri e. Images of cancer cells and machinery waft about in my mind.

[PD Turk]

60. So I sent this article to my wife

Her reply: "My God, it's full of earrings!!"

[fascisthunter]

61. there goes the value of a diamond

actually, mining in space will be quite expensive, so you have nothing to worry about DeDeers.

[Fearless]

62. I for one welcome our new diamond overlords. n/t