Astronomers have spotted an exotic planet that seems to be made of diamond.
The new planet is far denser than any other known so far and consists largely of carbon. Because it is so dense, scientists calculate the carbon must be crystalline, so a large part of this strange world will effectively be diamond.
"The evolutionary history and amazingdensity of the planet all suggest it is comprised of carbon -- i.e. a massive diamond orbiting a neutron star every two hours in an orbit," said Matthew Bailes of Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.
Lying 4,000 light years away, or around an eighth of the way toward the center of the Milky Way from the Earth, the planet is probably the remnant of a once-massive star that has lost its outer layers to the so-called pulsar star it orbits.
Pulsars are tiny, dead neutron stars that are only around 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) in diameter and spin hundreds of times a second, emitting beam of radiation.
The measurements suggest the planet has slightly more mass than Jupiter but is 20 times as dense, Bailes and colleagues reported in the journal Science on Thursday.
Just what this weird diamond world is actually like close up, however, is a mystery.
"In terms of what it would look like, I don't know I could even speculate," said Ben Stappers of the University of Manchester.


据英国路透社26日报道，天文学家发现在银河系存在着一颗奇特的行星，（它的岩石块）由类似钻石的物质组成。
这颗新星球的密度远远大于任何已知行星，它的主要成分是碳。由于该行星的密度很高，科学家认为，该行星中的碳极有可能是结晶体，这意味这个奇幻世界到处都存在着货真价实的钻石。

墨尔本斯维本科技大学的马修-贝尔斯说："这颗行星的进化史和其惊人的密度都可说明它是由碳构成的。换言之，这是一颗超大的钻石。每两小时，它就环绕一颗中子星转一圈。"


这颗钻石行星距离地球4000光年，大约是从地球到银河系中心距离的八分之一。它可能是一个质量极大的恒星的残余部分，原来恒星的外层已被它所环绕的脉冲星吸收。

脉冲星是已经死亡的小型中子星，直径只有20公里（12.4英里）左右，每秒旋转数百次，同时还会向外发出无线电光束。


贝尔斯与其同事在上周四三（25日）的《科学》杂志上发表报告指出，这颗钻石行星的质量比木星稍大一些，密度却是木星的20倍。

但这个诡秘的钻石世界近距离看起来究竟是什么样，还仍然是个谜。

英国曼彻斯特大学的本-史塔伯斯说："要说它看起来怎么样，连我自己都不知道。"

• planet [´plænit] n.行星 (初中英语单词)
• carbon [´kɑ:bən] n.碳；(一张)复写纸 (初中英语单词)
• amazing [ə´meiziŋ] a.惊人的；惊奇的 (初中英语单词)
• slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)
• jupiter [´dʒu:pitə] n.朱庇特；木星 (初中英语单词)
• journal [´dʒə:nəl] n.日记；日报；杂志 (初中英语单词)
• actually [´æktʃuəli] ad.事实上；实际上 (初中英语单词)
• massive [´mæsiv] a.厚实的；魁伟的 (高中英语单词)
• remnant [´remnənt] n.残(剩)余 a.剩余的 (高中英语单词)
• so-called [´sou ´kɔ:ld] a.所谓的，号称的 (高中英语单词)
• diameter [dai´æmitə] n.直径 (高中英语单词)
• manchester [´mæntʃistə] n.曼彻斯特 (高中英语单词)
• crystalline [´kristəlain] a.水晶(般)的；透明的 (英语六级单词)
• effectively [i´fektivli] ad.有效地 (英语六级单词)
• density [´densiti] n.浓(稠)密；密度 (英语六级单词)