the largst diamond in the universe

September 1, 2011 - The universe is a strange and mysterious place, and astronomers are uncovering new wonders each and every day. This latest find is located about 4,000 light years away from Earth, which is relatively close in the grand scheme of things.

A planet composed almost completely of diamond was discovered in orbit around pulsar J1719-1438. A pulsar is essentially a dead neutron star that still emits radiation and is typically are less than 15 miles wide. While scientists technically aren't able to see the object, they are able to estimate its composition based on the way it distorts the radiation from the pulsar. Through their calculations, this is the most dense planet ever discovered and therefore must be comprised of compressed carbon. As far as we know, the final form of compressed carbon is diamond.

Astronomers are guessing that the planet is a remnant of yet another star that lost its outside layers to the pulsar. The planet is approximately the size of Jupiter, but it's about 20 times as dense! Aside from its composition, which is remarkable, the planet is also unique as its complete orbit only takes about 2 hours and 10 minutes. In addition, it apparently has something of an atmosphere that's abundant in oxygen but lacking in hydrogen and helium.

It's hard to say what exactly this planet looks like up close, but scientist Ben Stappers of the University of Manchester doubts that it's shiny like most people would expect.

Just for fun, I went ahead and tried to calculate how much this diamond planet would be worth if it was chopped up into five carat diamonds and sold at a moderate market price of $50,000 each. Using that method I figure the diamond planet is worth a massive 95 decillion(9.5 x 10^34) US dollars! Just to compare, that totals to 6.5 sextillion(6.5 x 10^21) times the current national debt! That's one valuable planet!

by...mustafa m Hussein