It’s raining diamonds: precious jewels fall from the sky on these planets; understand the phenomenon

Imagine a scenario where the heavens not only shed drops of water, but also precious jewels, sparkling and shining.

Now, imagine that these jewels are diamonds, one of the most coveted gemstones in the world. It seems impossible, but this rain occurs, however, far from mere earthlings.

This impressive phenomenon occurs on Uranus and Neptune. In these deep regions, the pressure is so intense that the carbon present, normally in the form of methane, can be subjected to chemical transformations that result in the formation of small diamonds.

Understand how diamond rain happens

Image: NASA/Reproduction

The phenomenon of diamond rain on Neptune and Uranus occurs due to a process in which high pressures and temperatures in the inner layers of these planets Ice and gas giants can cause the formation of diamonds that eventually fall toward the core.

As these diamonds form, they become dense enough to overcome the forces of buoyancy and begin to sink toward the planet’s innermost layers.

About four decades ago, the idea of ​​diamonds falling onto ice giant planets was proposed. However, it was only in 2017 that a team of German and American scientists managed to confirm this theory.

Using computer simulations, researchers demonstrated that conditions in the inner layers of Uranus and Neptune were ripe for the formation of diamonds.

This concept was discussed in podcast from NASA, where astrophysicist Naomi Rowe-Gurney explained in more detail the current state of this theoretical conception.

“Inside the planet, when it is very hot and very dense, these diamonds form and accumulate, and then they become even heavier. And that means they rain down into the atmosphere. But it’s not the rain we see here because these pressures are extreme and you can never get there as a human. Therefore, even if these diamonds exist, we could never go looking for them”, explained the scientist.