Extraterrestrial diamonds

Although diamonds on Earth are rare, extraterrestrial diamonds (diamonds formed outside of Earth) are very common. Diamonds so small that they contain only about 2000 carbon atoms are abundant in meteorites, and some of them formed in stars before the Solar System existed.[1] High pressure experiments suggest large amounts of diamonds are formed from methane on the ice giant planets Uranus and Neptune, while some planets in other planetary systems may be almost pure diamond.[2] Diamonds are also found in stars and may have been the first mineral ever to have formed.

  1. ^ Daulton, T. L. (2006). "Extraterrestrial Nanodiamonds in the Cosmos". (Chapter II) in "Ultrananocrystalline Diamond: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications" editors O. Shenderova and D. Gruen. pp. 23–78.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference MaxPlanck was invoked but never defined (see the help page).