Uranus and Neptune are the designated ice giants in the Solar System since both planets are mostly made of water, ammonia, and methane. Verve Times reported that these are molecules scientists commonly refer to as "ices" because they were likely in solid form when planets first formed. Scientists believe that there could also be a constant rain of diamonds within the two ice giants.
However, diamond rain has remained only a hypothesis until this day because only Voyager 2 was sent to fly over these planets to reveal their secrets. But more than the mystery of diamond rain, the lack of information about these ice giants limits the understanding of the Solar System and the galaxy because similar size planets tend to be common in the Milky Way.
Could It Be Raining Diamonds in Uranus and Neptune? Scientists Use Mathematical Model to Find Out What's Happening Inside the Ice Giants
The Ice Giants: What's Inside These Bluish Planets?
Uranus and Neptune have two outer layers composed of compounds that include hydrogen and helium, American Scientist reported. In astronomy, ice refers to all compounds that consist of hydrogen molecules. That means planets with ammonia (NH3), methane (CH4), and water (NH3) make them "icy." The methane (CH₄) in both planets causes a bluish hue.
But deep in their mantle are properties that shape them. For instance, simulations reveal that the ices in the middle layer of Neptune that is about 10,874 miles (17,500 kilometers) thick, are compressed to high densities and are heated at high temperatures. Despite the high temperatures and pressures, the so-called ices in this layer remain hot and dense fluid.
Scientists have hypothesized the formation of diamonds in the mantle of these planets due to these exotic processes. They tried to understand what was happening inside the ice giants using mathematical modeling based on the meager data they have and combined it with laboratory experiments that replicate the conditions of the interior of those planets.
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Diamond Rain on Ice Giants
According to Live Science, the idea of a constant rain of diamonds in ice giants was proposed even before the Voyager 2 mission was launched in 1977.
Scientists argued that Uranus and Neptune are made of compounds that get hotter and denser deep within the planet. More so, mathematical models show that the mantles of these planets have high temperatures ad pressures that are six times that of Earth's atmosphere.
With cooler temperatures in the outermost layer of their mantles that reach 2,000 K (3,140 F or 1,727 C) and intense pressure that is 200,000 times of Earth's atmospheric pressure, scientists have wondered what happens to water, ammonia, and methane in the ice giants.
They said that intense pressures could break methane molecules apart and release carbon, forming long chains that squeeze together to form crystalline patterns that resemble diamonds. Then these dense diamonds drop through the layers of mantle until it is subjected to extreme temperatures, where they vaporize to repeat the cycle. Hence scientists refer to this as diamond rain.
But this concept remains a theory until scientists can validate it by sending a spacecraft to Uranus or Neptune, which is unlikely to happen anytime soon. That means scientists would have to rely on laboratory experiments to picture out the processes in these ice giants.
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