14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists propose in a new study that certain extrasolar planets could be made out of diamond. Such worlds would most definitely be uninhabitable, since the conditions required to create this carbon compound are not exactly friendly to life.
Ohio State University expert Wendy Panero believes that a world made out of diamonds would be extremely cold. Such a planet would belong to the carbon super-Earth class, and would have a core made up of 50 percent diamonds, Space reports.
Since the material can easily eliminate heat, the core of such a world would rapidly freeze. This would in turn lead to a massive drop in temperatures on the surface of the planet, as well as in its atmosphere.
“Our results are striking, in that they suggest carbon-rich planets can form with a core and a mantle, just as Earth did,” Panero says, implying that carbon super-Earths may be rather common.