Iced-out diamond planet catches astronomers' eyes

If you thought Kim Kardashian's engagement ring was a ridiculous rock, you haven't seen the ludicrously large diamond planet, J1719-1438. Scientists at the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne recently spotted this celestial body that's so dense, it's believed to be crystalline carbon -- i.e. a ginormous diamond similar in size to Jupiter. Since the 60s, astrophysicists like Marc Kuchner have theorized that carbon-heavy stars can burn out, crystallize and form diamonds under the right pressure. Supporting the idea, a white dwarf star spotted in 1992, BPM 37093, had cooled and crystallized over the course of 12 years -- even copping the nickname "Lucy" after the Beatles jam. Although astronomers in Australia, Britain and Hawaii have all identified the newly spotted precious planet J1719-1438, they are still unsure if the crystallized carbon rock will be all sparkly mountains up close -- dashing the hopes and dreams of material girls everywhere.

Iced-out diamond planet catches astronomers' eyes originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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