A team of astronomers from the Swineburne University of Technology in Melbourne have discovered a super dense celestial body, large enough to be a planet and dense enough to be a hard, behemoth diamond. It is 4,000 light-years away and probably is not the most inhabitable spot in the universe. Still a planet that consists of purely crystallized matter certainly sounds magnificent. According to the speculations of Travis Metcalfe of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, the diamond planet would probably sparkle if someone was able to actually shine a light source on it. It may not, however, shine as brilliantly as a well-carved stone.
Discovering the Largest Diamond in the Universe
Astronomers that discovered the ultra-dense planet in our own Milky Way Galaxy believe it is a planet of diamond, according to New Scientist. The celestial body is tightly orbiting a pulsar, which is a neutron star that emits radio beams into space. This particular pulsar is rotating at an incredible speed, 173 times each second.
The orbiting planet has the mass of Jupiter, but cannot be much larger than 40 percent of Jupiter's width. Its density is estimated to be about twice that of lead. The planet was discovered with a telescope in Melbourne, Australia, by a team of astronomers led by Matthew Bailes.
The fact that it is orbiting a pulsar makes it significant, let alone its crystalline structure. With about 1800 known pulsars there are only two other known with orbiting planets besides the newly discovered planet-sized diamond. The diamond planet's pulsar was first detected in December of 2009 by a radio telescope in New South Wales. The following month, the Lovell radio telescope in the United Kingdom found variations that indicated an orbiting planet. It is these earlier discoveries that led to the search for what has turned out to be a unique discovery, a world of diamond.
How Do Scientists Know It's a Diamond?
They don't known for sure, but based on what is known about pulsars, the diamond theory is sound speculation. Pulsars as fast as the diamond planet's orbit sun usually take mass from a nearby star. The crystalline planet may be what is left of the star, after being 'whittled down' by the pulsar and pressurized by the weight of its own gravity.
No one is headed for the largest diamond in the universe so far, although there are probably a few imaginations trying to come up with a way to travel 4,000 light-years away.
Brenna Coleman - Brenna is a freelance writer focusing on natural health and beauty. She has written hundreds of articles, helping readers find ways to ...
