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There Is a Planet Made of Diamond Twice Earth's Size

40 light years away is a planet that may be one-third pure diamond.

There Is a Planet Made of Diamond Twice Earth's Size — AI illustration
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55 Cancri e is a rocky world about twice as wide as Earth, orbiting its star so closely that one year there lasts just 18 hours. Its surface is around 2,400C, hot enough to melt metal. Because its host star is rich in carbon, astronomers believe the planet's interior is also carbon-rich. Under immense pressure, that carbon could have crystallised into diamond, making up a third of the planet's mass. It would be worthless to mine — the diamond would not be gem quality and the heat would destroy any spacecraft. It was discovered in 2004 and is 40 light-years from us.

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