Carbon Planet
The carbon-rich content of the Beta Pictoris debris disk has fuelled the fascinating idea that a carbon planet, made mostly from compounds like silicon carbide and diamond, might be formed there. Inspired by this idea, renowned space artist Lynette Cook's concept shows a carbon planet with a tar covered surface. A meteorite impact has exposed a diamond layer beneath the surface. What better planet to have marked the Queen's diamond jubilee?
Copyright Lynette Cook. Reproduced with permission. See http://extrasolar.spaceart.org