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+--- Thread: It's raining diamonds on Saturn (/thread-2434.html)
It's raining diamonds on Saturn - Magical Realist - May 30, 2016
Nice..Some bling to go with those rings!
"We have heard of the occasional fish, tadpole and even spider raining down from the skies, but diamonds? That is definitely a first! Unfortunately, this miracle is not happening anywhere on earth but over 830 million miles (1.2 billion km) away, on Saturn and Jupiter.
At least that is what planetary scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California seem to think after conducting extensive research, the results of which were presented at the 45th annual meeting of the Division of Planetary Scientists that was held in Denver, Colorado from October 6-11th, 2013.
According to Dr. Kevin Baines, the lead researcher on the project, over 1,000 tons of diamonds are being created every year on Saturn. Given that the ringed planet is too far to actually see this phenomenon, the initial reaction to this assertion is skepticism. But the scientist says that his team's conclusions are rooted in the basic principals of chemistry.
It is a well-known fact that about half of a percent of Saturn's atmosphere comprises of methane. Also, thanks to
images sent in by NASA spacecraft Cassini, which has been orbiting the ringed planet since 2004, researchers know that Saturn is susceptible to giant lightning storms and even, hurricanes.
Using this information, Kevin and the study's co-author - planetary scientist Mona Delitsky, deduced that the lightning burns up the methane that is present in the atmosphere and transforms the odorless, colorless gas into something we are all familiar with - soot or carbon. As clouds of the black carbon are 'raining' down on the planet, they clump together and form graphite which gets subjected to intense pressure from the atmosphere as it gets closer to the planet's core and transforms into the shiny precious stones that we lovingly call diamonds. While Jupiter's atmosphere comprises of only 0.2% methane the scientists believe that a similar phenomenon occurs there too."====http://www.dogonews.com/2013/10/18/does-it-really-rain-diamonds-on-saturn-and-jupiter-these-scientists-certainly-seem-to-think-so
RE: It's raining diamonds on Saturn - C C - Jun 2, 2016
Quote:This is not the first time scientists have speculated about diamond rain. Uranus and Neptune are long known to be diamond treasure troves.
I felt that there was even some classic science fiction that entertained this years ago, but it must have been paramnesia.