A planet orbiting a pulsar 4,000 light years away, from the center of the Milky Way, is raising astronomer’s eyebrows. Pulsar J1719-1438’s beams sweep Earth’s surface, thus making it subject to observation by astronomers in Australia, Britain, and Hawai’i, via telescope. Discovered in 2010 by the High Time Resolution Survey, PSR J1719-1438 b has been given an interesting nickname based on its theorized composition.
PSR J1719-1438 b has been measured to have a density more than any other heavenly body, and has a consistency that is majority carbon. Based on the amount of density and carbon present, scientists theorize the planet is essentially a diamond; giving it the nickname “the diamond planet.”
Another interesting quality of the diamond planet is its orbit. This planet orbits so closely to its host star (the previously mentioned pulsar), its orbit could fit within our solar system’s sun. Scientists believe the diamond planet may have formerly been a star that has lost its remnants to the pulsar which it orbits.
Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/25/us-planet-diamond-idUSTRE77O69A20110825
Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/25/us-planet-diamond-idUSTRE77O69A20110825
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