Planet 55 Cancri e is not covered in dust or water but diamonds.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The universe is a place where unexpected things happen. The most abundant elements in the universe are hydrogen, helium, oxygen, and carbon.
This universal building component can turn into something useful and beautiful when the right conditions exist. Each of these elements has a different form. All depends on temperature, pressure and chemical structure.
For example, the element carbon has various forms, including diamond. The American Space Agency (NASA) explains that diamonds originate when carbon is under high pressure for long periods of time. Diamonds are extremely rare on Earth due to the rarity of the material and the conditions necessary for their formation.
On the other hand, extreme pressures and temperatures are quite common in the harsh environment of outer space. This diamond is not impossible, it is easy to find on other planets or other celestial bodies.
Yale University scientists announced the discovery of a diamond-rich planet in a study published in 2012. According to astronomers at the time, the planet known as 55 Cancers and may be covered in diamonds, not water and stones.
The exoplanet is twice the size of Earth, but eight times its mass. This super-Earth is 40 light years from us, trapped in a very fast tidal orbit around its star.
This planet orbits the sun at a distance of 25 times closer than Mercury to our sun. The temperature there surpassed 9,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Judging from its economic value, this planet has a value of 26.9 nonilion US dollars (nonylon has 30 zeros).
In 2020, the American Astronomical Society claims to have solved the mystery about this diamond planet. According to researchers at Arizona State University, diamond planets are bound by certain types of stars with high carbon to oxygen ratios, where carbides predominate over silicates.
Scientists examine how silicon carbide operates in extreme pressure and temperature environments by simulating the planet’s extraordinary pressure and temperature states.
They found that silicon carbide turned into silica and diamond under pressures greater than 50GPA and temperatures in excess of 2500 degrees Kelvin.
Pluto’s largest moon Charon and WASP-12b, a carbon-rich Jupiter-style exoplanet located 1,200 light-years from Earth, are among the planets and moons identified as potential diamond hotspots.
Closer still, according to astronomers diamonds are expected to rain down on Saturn and Jupiter on a regular basis.
Space mining
Space mining has been driven by scientific discoveries about extraterrestrial resources. The US Commercial Outer Space Launch Competitiveness Act, often known as the Outer Space Act, was passed on November 25, 2015 as a result of the space policy promulgated by US President Barack Obama.
With the full support of the federal government, this bill officially opens space resource extraction activities to the commercial sector.
–
