Diamond Planet Found By Astronomers

A giant diamond as big as a planet was discovered by astronomers in Australia. The unnamed planet is made of extremely dense carbon, which has made scientists believe that the newly discovered planet is basically one gigantic diamond.

Matthew Bailes of Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, said:

“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.”

Astronomers in Australia, Britain and Hawaii, have been monitoring light from the diamond planet and have found out that the planet is likely 20 times more dense than Jupiter and has slightly more mass. Bailes and his colleagues, who published their report in the journal, Science, believe that there is also oxygen on the planet.