A Diamond Planet?
The Smithsonian Institution owns one of the largest and most expensive diamonds in the world - The Hope Diamond, which is approximately 45.552 carats weight and estimated to be worth around $400 million dollars. This was originally owned by Tavernier Louis XIV of France Henry Philip Hope. If you think this is a mind-blowing fact, can you imagine a planet full of diamonds?
Astronomers discovered a planet that is orbiting a sun-like star called 55 Cancri (Also known as Rho Cancri). It is located just at the end of the Y-shaped constellation Cancer and is about 40 light years away from Earth. This planet was named as 55 Cancri e. In 2012, NASA astronomers found that the host star, 55 Cancri, has more carbon and oxygen than our Sun. This study also revealed that 55 Cancri e is a tidally locked planet to its host star just like our moon is tidally locked with earth. This means that the same side of the moon faces the earth at all times. This planet is relatively dark on the side that is not facing its host star and the surface that is facing the star can reach up to 3900 degrees Fahrenheit. Astronomers have estimated that planet 55 Cancri e has a radius double the size of Earth’s radius (3959 miles), and that it is 8 times more massive than Earth, so it is also called Super Earth. After studying the planet’s mass, radius, and the host star’s composition, astronomers revealed that the Super Earth planet is composed of at least 1/3rd carbon, which is the core composition of diamonds. They further revealed that its surface is mostly made up of graphite, underneath a thick layer of diamond. The diamond layer is over a deep layer of silicon based minerals with a molten core of iron. Studies on this planet also indicate that only a negligible amount of ice was involved during the planet's formation, unlike Earth’s formation. Because 1/3rd of the planet is made of carbon (diamonds), the diamond composition on this planet is equivalent to 3 times the mass of the Earth! Researchers at Yale university estimated that this planet is estimated to value about a whopping $26.9 nonillion (30 zeros after 26.9). To get some human perspective on this number, the world’s GDP according to the World Bank is only about 142 Trillion (source: Statista 2019) USD, which has only 12 zeros.
A visualization of the Cancri system
Picture Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle (SSC)
Earth vs Super Earth
Picture Source: sciencesprings
