Astronomers discover unimaginably large diamond in space

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DIAMONDS? WOOHOO!

Astronomers have discovered a planet twice the size of Earth made largely out of diamond which is orbiting a star that is visible with the naked eye.

The rocky planet, called ‘55 Cancri e’, orbits a sun-like star 40 light years away in the constellation of Cancer and is moving so fast that a year there lasts a mere 18 hours.

Discovered by a U.S.-Franco research team, its radius is twice that of Earth’s but it is much more dense with a mass eight times greater. It is also incredibly hot, with temperatures on its surface reaching 3,900 degrees Fahrenheit (1,648 Celsius).

Diamond planets have been spotted before but this is the first time one has been seen orbiting a sun-like star and studied in such detail.