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Great wahrks! Vast bling-bling!
If anyone ever promises you the sun, the moon and the stars, just say âno thanksâ and tell them youâd rather have BPM 37093. Why? Because the heart of that burned-out star is a diamond that weighs in at a staggering 10 billion trillion carats. Never mind how much thatâs worth, just think of the lifetimes of bling you could mine from 2500 miles of diamond craters.:jawdrop: âYou would need a jewellerâs loupe [magnifying glass] the size of the sun to grade this diamond,â said astronomer Travis Metcalfe, who led the team of American researchers who found the cosmic gem. Scientists have suspected for 40 years that the interior of a white dwarf, the hot core left in space after a star burns all its fuel and dies, is crystallised. But Star Wars fans know that⊠âThe hunt for the crystal core of this white dwarf has been going on for decades but obtaining direct evidence only became possible recently,â said Michael Montgomery, the co-author of the paper announcing the discovery. By measuring pulsations from the dead star, scientists were able to study its interior in much the same way as geologists study the Earthâs core with seismographic data. The carbon core of BMP 37093, the scientists figured, had solidified into a giant diamond. Apart from the fact it canât be gift-wrapped, the gem presents another problem â it is 50 light years away in the constellation Centaurus. Thatâs around six trillion miles every year for 50 years. Amazingly, because it is burned out, this diamond does not sparkle at night. It is not even visible to the human eye. But this burned-out husk completely outshines the largest diamond on Earth, the 530-carat Star of Africa, the centrepiece of the British crown jewels. The gem was cut from the largest diamond ever found on Earth, a 3100-carat stone. Itâs my Precioussss! Posted by: Steve from Relto 2004-02-25 |
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