Illustration of the interior of ’55 Cancri e’ — an extremely hot planet with a surface of mostly graphite surrounding a thick layer of diamond, with a molten iron core at the center. (Image: Haven Giguere)

Scientists have found a planet outside of our solar system which could be a true diamond in the rough.

This gem of a planet is twice Earth’s size, according to the US-Franco team that found it, and its surface appears to be covered in graphite and diamond.

Researchers estimate that at least one-third of the new planet’s mass could be diamond.

The gemstone planet, called ’55 Cancri e’, has a radius twice that of Earth’s and a mass that’s eight times greater, making it a “super-Earth.”  The planet is one of five found orbiting ’55 Cancri’, a sun-like star about 40 light years from Earth.  Located in the constellation of Cancer, scientists say the star can be seen with the naked eye.

Astronomers first spotted the planet last year as it was transiting its star, which allowed them to measure its radius for the first time.  Using that information, along with their most recent estimate of its mass, researchers used computer modeling to speculate on the chemical composition of the planet.

Previous research revealed that the host star, 55 Cancri, has more carbon than it does oxygen, leading the US-French team to confirm that significant amounts of carbon and silicon carbide, with only a small amount of water ice, were available during the planet’s formation.

Star map showing the planet-hosting star 55 Cancri in the constellation of Cancer. The star is visible to the naked eye. (Image:Nikku Madhusudhan using Sky Map Online)

Astronomers initially assumed the diamond planet’s chemical composition was similar to Earth’s and that 55 Cancri e contained a substantial quantity of super-heated water.  However, according to Yale University researcher Nikku Madhusudhan, the new research suggests the planet has no water at all and is primarily made up of carbon – such as graphite and diamond – as well as iron, silicon carbide, and, possibly, some silicates.

The identification of a carbon-rich super-Earth means scientists can no longer assume that all distant rocky planets have chemical elements, interiors, atmospheres or biologies similar to Earth, according to Madhusudhan.

Which means there could be other gemstone planets out there just waiting to be discovered.

Screen-shot Map of Life (Image: Yale University)

A new website, built on a Google Maps platform, allows anyone with an Internet connection to map the known global distribution of nearly all of Earth’s species, including mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, as well as the fresh water fish of North America.

This initial version of  “Map of Life” shows how all of Earth’s animals are geographically distributed throughout the world.

“It is the where and the when of a species,” says Walter Jetz, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale University, who helped lead the project. “It puts at your fingertips the geographic diversity of life. Ultimately, the hope is for this literally to include hundreds of thousands of animals and plants, and show how much or indeed how little we know of their whereabouts.”

A joint effort with the University of Colorado and the Calgary Zoological Society, the ongoing project is outlined in “Trends in Ecology and Evolution”.

The team anticipates “Map of Life” will be a useful tool for a number of people, including professional scientists, wildlife and land managers, ecological and conservation organizations, as well as interested members of the general public.

(Map of Life demo)

Data for the project includes contributions from various museums; local and regional checklists; and observations recorded by both professional and amateur scientists.

The map is expected to grow as additional data is continuously added by both professionals and amateurs, allowing researchers to identify and fill knowledge gaps, while at the same time offering a unique tool which can be used to detect change over a period of time.

Just how in-depth and extensive the map will be depends upon the continual input, support and participation by others in the scientific community.  In future versions, the mapping tool will offer various mechanisms for users to supply new or missing information.

Fundamentally, the map is, “an infrastructure, something to help us all collaborate, improve, share, and understand the still extremely limited geographic knowledge about biodiversity,” Jetz says.