WONDERS OF THE UNIVERSE

THE DIAMOND PLANET

One of five known planets in orbit around the larger star of a binary pair just 41 light years away from the Sun in the constellation of Cancer, 55 Cancri e is a super-Earth with a speedy orbital period of just 18 hours. As the planet closest to its host star, pressures and temperatures are high, and it is likely tidally locked to its parent body, meaning the same side is constantly facing it.

Studies revealed that the planet has a mass about eight times that of Earth, and a radius twice as wide. Indirect analysis of the planet’s composition revealed it has a huge abundance of carbon. Scientists posit that the surface of the planet is covered in graphite, which protects a much more interesting layer of pure diamond underneath,