Neptune Diamond rain

SCIENTISTS CREATE “DIAMOND RAIN” OF NEPTUNE AND URANUS

In an experiment designed to mimic the conditions deep inside the icy giant planets of Uranus and Neptune, scientists at the SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source in Stanford were able to observe “diamond rain” for the first time as it formed in high-pressure conditions.

 

According to SLAC, “extremely high pressure squeezes hydrogen and carbon found in the interior of these planets to form solid diamonds that sink slowly down further into the interior”.

 

The glittering precipitation has long been hypothesized to arise more than 5,000 miles below the surface of Uranus and Neptune. Researchers simulated the environment found inside these planets by creating shock waves in plastic with an intense optical laser.

 

On Uranus and Neptune, the study authors predict that diamonds are extremely large, maybe millions of carats in weight. Researchers also think it’s possible that over thousands of years, the diamonds slowly sink through the planets’ ice layers and assemble into a thick layer around the core.

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