This Planet Has Huge Deposits Of Diamonds, Reveals Study
NDTV
The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Communications and could provide light on the composition and unusual magnetic field of the planet.
A recent study suggests that a thick layer of diamonds may exist hundreds of miles underneath the surface of Mercury, according to a report in Live Science. Yanhao Lin, a staff scientist at the Center for High-Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research in Beijing and co-author of the study said that Mercury's extremely high carbon content "made me realize that something special probably happened within its interior." The first planet of our solar system has a magnetic field, however, it is much weaker than Earth. Further, NASA's Messenger spacecraft discovered anomalously black areas on Mercury's surface that it recognized as graphite, a type of carbon.
The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Communications and could provide light on the composition and unusual magnetic field of the planet.
Scientists believe that the planet most likely formed from the cooling of a hot lava ocean, similar to how other terrestrial planets developed. This ocean was probably rich in silicate and carbon in Mercury's case. The planet's outer crust and middle mantle formed from the residual magma crystallizing while metals first coagulated within it to form a central core.
