Space Facts: It rains diamonds here, diamonds rain down like a drizzling monsoon!

Scientific experiment on rain of diamonds

According to a scientific experiment, diamonds may rain on hundreds of exoplanets in space. These diamonds will be the result of highly compressed carbon compounds present in the interior of the exoplanet at extremely low temperatures. Scientists estimate that diamonds may rain on more than 1900 of the 5600 exoplanets. This also includes Uranus and Neptune, the planets closest to Earth in our solar system.

​Sense-blowing results from the experiment

The scientific experiment was conducted by Mungo Frost and his/her colleagues at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California. According to Frost’s experiment, diamond rain could become a common occurrence inside ice-giant planets such as Uranus and Neptune.

In the scientific experiment, Frost’s team used polystyrene, the polymer used to make Styrofoam, by compressing it. The team squeezed polystyrene between two diamonds and then shone X-ray light on it, and the results astonished them.

How does it rain diamonds?

Actually, methane gas is present in large quantities on the planets Uranus and Neptune. We all know that methane contains hydrogen and carbon. Its chemical formula is CH₄. When methane is pressurized on Neptune and Uranus, the bonds of hydrogen and carbon break, after which carbon is converted into diamond. After this, it rains diamonds there.

An environment completely different from the earth

These planets (Neptune and Uranus) are completely different from Earth, because the conditions here are such that no creature of Earth can flourish. The possibilities of life on these planets are zero. If we talk about the temperature here, it goes down to about 200 degrees Celsius below zero.

Winds blow at supersonic speeds

On these planets, methane gas remains frozen like ice and when the wind blows, it flies like clouds. The surface here is completely flat and the winds blow at supersonic speeds, which are 1500 miles/hour.

The extreme cold!

Uranus and Neptune have condensed carbon in their atmospheres, which is why it rains diamonds here. The sad thing is that no one can get the diamonds here because it is extremely cold here (about 200 degrees Celsius below zero), which makes it very difficult to survive and it is even more difficult to reach here.

How is the planet Neptune?

Dark, cold and surrounded by supersonic winds, giant Neptune is the eighth and most distant major planet orbiting our Sun. In 2011, Neptune completed its first 165-year orbit since its discovery.

Neptune cannot be seen with the naked eye because it is 30 times farther from the Sun than Earth. The planet’s deep blue color is due to the methane in its atmosphere, which absorbs red wavelengths of light.

Also know about Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun, and it is the third largest planet in our solar system – about four times wider than Earth. It has a diameter of 31,763 miles, or 51,120 kilometers, at its equator.

Uranus is a very cold and windy planet. Its color is blue-green because it contains a lot of methane. It is surrounded by faint rings and more than two dozen small moons.