The whole sky is in diamonds! Trillions of planets in the universe are made of this stone

Irina Ziganshina

American researchers, who published material in the Planetary Science Journal, proved that some planets can produce so many diamonds that they are mostly composed of this material. Business Insider reports.

On Earth, diamonds are considered gemstones, in part because they are quite rare: the content of diamonds on our planet is approximately 0.001%. However, on other planets, according to the discovery of scientists from the University of Arizona and the University of Chicago, diamonds can be found as often as ordinary stones.

These planets, known as carbide exoplanets, contain much more carbon than Earth. The cores of these planets may also contain molten silicon carbide, a molecule composed of silicon and carbon. By simulating the conditions on such a planet, the researchers confirmed that if the temperature and pressure become extreme enough, then in the presence of water, silicon carbide can turn into silica and super-compressed carbon crystals, which are diamonds.

Under high temperature and high pressure conditions, such as in the interior of the Earth, some planets can produce huge amounts of diamonds. So huge that they can be mostly made of this stuff. There are about 100 billion planets in our galaxy, and there are 100 billion galaxies in the Universe.

Even if there are only one billion diamond planets, the almost inconceivably huge size of the universe means there could be trillions of diamond planets in the universe. According to the study authors, these exoplanets are unlike anything else in the solar system, they have a harsh environment, and the atmosphere is rich in methane and other gases with low oxygen content. For these and other reasons, there is hardly life on diamond planets.