Mercury, the smallest planet in our solar system, might be hiding a colossal secret: a diamond layer beneath its crust that could be as thick as 18 kilometers, according to recent research
Scientists from China and Belgium utilized data collected by NASA’s Messenger spacecraft, which orbited Mercury from 2004 to 2015, to investigate the planet’s internal structure.
When Mercury formed around 4.5 billion years ago, its metallic core was completely liquid. Over time, this core gradually crystallized. The new study suggests that under extreme pressure, carbon dioxide present in the mantle transformed into diamond
The researchers propose that two key processes could have led to the formation of this diamond layer. “The first is the crystallization of a magma ocean, but this process likely contributed to the formation of only a very thin diamond layer on the surface of the core. The second, and most important, is the crystallization of Mercury’s metallic core,” explained Olivier Namur, a member of the research team.
Previously, scientists had hypothesized that more than a quadrillion tons of diamonds could be scattered beneath Earth’s surface. These minerals are believed to be buried over 160 kilometers deep, far beyond the reach of any human drilling technology.
This discovery on Mercury opens up new possibilities for understanding the planet’s formation and the processes that occur deep within its interior, adding a fascinating chapter to our knowledge of the solar system.