10 Insane Planets You Won't Believe Exist
5. The One That's (Probably) Made Of Diamond
Speaking of unattainable wealth and risking it for biscuits, we have now arrived at 55 Cancri e, also known as Janssen. If you're a space enthusiast or exoplanet nerd, then you may have actually heard of this one. If not, here's the elevator pitch: it's made of diamond.
Well, probably. At least partially.
Janssen is well over 3,100 °F, and the gravity is immense. This combination has led many scientists to theorize that at least one-third of the planet may be made of solid carbon, AKA the material that makes up diamonds. If true, then it would be worth almost $27 nonillion (one nonillion has 30 zeros, by the way), which - if you're counting - is over 385 quadrillion times more than the GDP of the planet Earth.
Here's the catch, though: all that diamond would be on the planet's interior, which is buried beneath a theoretical ocean of lava that presumably covers the entirety of Janssen's surface. How frustrating is that, eh? The galactic motherlode, just barely out of reach.
The fact that this planet isn't at the center of a regional galactic power struggle between two alien civilizations is honestly crushing.