Scientists Say Carbon-Rich Planet May Have Mountains of Diamonds
http://www.aolnews.com/science/article/scientists-say-carbon-rich-planet-may-have-mountains-of-diamonds/19753959
By Hugh Collins
(Dec. 9) -- If Earth is the Blue Planet, call this the Bling Planet.
Astronomers say they have spotted a planet that could contain mountains of diamonds.
WASP-12b, a gas giant about 871 light-years from Earth, seems to have an unusually large amount of carbon in its atmosphere. Diamonds form when carbon is compressed at extremely high temperatures.
The high amount of carbon in the planet's atmosphere suggests that its solid core could be full of diamonds, rather than the silicon- and oxygen-rich materials on Earth.
"The high carbon-to-oxygen ratio indicates a carbide or diamond interior rather than the silicate geology of the Earth," said Nikku Madhusudhan, a Princeton astrophysicist, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
If there is life on this pimped-out planet, it may depend on carbon-rich substances such as methane -- the main ingredient in natural gas -- rather than oxygen.
"This is new territory and will motivate researchers to study what the interiors of carbon-rich planets could be made of," Madhusudhan said, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Madhusudhan and his team can analyze the chemical composition of the planet because it is so close to its star and has a surface temperature of almost 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
"The Spitzer Space Telescope can detect the heat of the planet, and studying this radiation tells us which molecules are in its atmosphere," Coel Hellier of Keele University in Staffordshire, U.K., said, according to BBC News.
Not everyone is convinced by the findings, which were published in the scientific journal Nature. Simon O'Toole from the Australian Astronomical Observatory said the findings are based on limited information.
"The findings are interesting, but are based on just four data points," O'Toole said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp. "I would proceed with caution."
By Hugh Collins
(Dec. 9) -- If Earth is the Blue Planet, call this the Bling Planet.
Astronomers say they have spotted a planet that could contain mountains of diamonds.
WASP-12b, a gas giant about 871 light-years from Earth, seems to have an unusually large amount of carbon in its atmosphere. Diamonds form when carbon is compressed at extremely high temperatures.
The high amount of carbon in the planet's atmosphere suggests that its solid core could be full of diamonds, rather than the silicon- and oxygen-rich materials on Earth.
"The high carbon-to-oxygen ratio indicates a carbide or diamond interior rather than the silicate geology of the Earth," said Nikku Madhusudhan, a Princeton astrophysicist, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
If there is life on this pimped-out planet, it may depend on carbon-rich substances such as methane -- the main ingredient in natural gas -- rather than oxygen.
"This is new territory and will motivate researchers to study what the interiors of carbon-rich planets could be made of," Madhusudhan said, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Madhusudhan and his team can analyze the chemical composition of the planet because it is so close to its star and has a surface temperature of almost 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
"The Spitzer Space Telescope can detect the heat of the planet, and studying this radiation tells us which molecules are in its atmosphere," Coel Hellier of Keele University in Staffordshire, U.K., said, according to BBC News.
Not everyone is convinced by the findings, which were published in the scientific journal Nature. Simon O'Toole from the Australian Astronomical Observatory said the findings are based on limited information.
"The findings are interesting, but are based on just four data points," O'Toole said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp. "I would proceed with caution."