Yes, actually it may be raining diamonds in the atmospheres of the gas giants.
More details here: 'Diamond rain' falls on Saturn and Jupiter - BBC News
So about a thousand tons a year of diamonds probably fall through the atmosphere of Saturn, but they probably turn to liquid carbon towards its centre. And same even more so with Jupiter.
With the cooler Neptune and Uranus they may have solid diamonds survive all the way down to their cores.
Though, they say in that report it is actually a hydrogen / helium / carbon mix rather than pure carbon, leading to the question - does that also form diamonds in those conditions?
More details here: 'Diamond rain' falls on Saturn and Jupiter - BBC News
So about a thousand tons a year of diamonds probably fall through the atmosphere of Saturn, but they probably turn to liquid carbon towards its centre. And same even more so with Jupiter.
With the cooler Neptune and Uranus they may have solid diamonds survive all the way down to their cores.
Though, they say in that report it is actually a hydrogen / helium / carbon mix rather than pure carbon, leading to the question - does that also form diamonds in those conditions?
About the Author
Robert Walker
Writer of articles on Mars and Space issues - Software Developer of Tune Smithy, Bounce Metronome etc.Studied at Wolfson College, Oxford
Lives in Isle of Mull
4.8m answer views110.4k this month
Top Writer2017, 2016, and 2015
Published WriterHuffPost, Slate, and 4 moreHuffPost, Slate, Forbes, Newsweek, Business Insider, and Science 2.0