According to a new study presented at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, the surface of Mercury might hold as much as 16 quadrillion tonnes of precious gems, according to the researchers.
Mercury, the world that lies nearest to the Sun, is unquestionably among the most fascinating bodies in the planetary system. Mercury is the only planet that has a magnetic field. When contrasted to our understanding of the Moon or Mars, we understand very little about this world with a hazardous climate on the surface.
When an asteroid strikes Mercury, the majority of the planet’s crust is composed of graphite, which is a pristine carbon source that may be converted into diamonds. The globe is littered with craters, which are the result of meteorite impacts and comets that have impacted it throughout the years.
Asteroids, as well as comet shock waves impacting the ground at hundreds of meters per second, have the potential to change graphite into diamonds if they are large enough. They’re most likely hardly anything like the large transparent gems that we carve and set in accessories today. A closer analogue would be the little hazy diamonds utilized as abrasive particles in manufacturing, which are likely to be found in a muddled combination with graphite as well as other carbon-containing materials.
Apart from the fact that Mercury has an exceptionally high gravitational force, the greatest impediment to manned missions of Mercury is the planet’s great remoteness from the Earth. It is unnecessary to emphasize the extraordinarily changeable heat, which swings from 801 °F to 279 °F on a daily basis. The circumstances on Mercury are much too severe for anyone to attempt a firsthand exploration of the planet.
Diamonds might be detected in external surfaces by the next BepiColombo expedition, according to the hypothesis. It carries equipment that is complementary to those on NASA’s MESSENGER expedition, and they are far more effective at finding specific minerals such as this.
Tiesha loves to share her passion for everything that’s beautiful in this world. Apart from writing on her beauty blog and running her own beauty channel on Youtube, she also enjoys traveling and photography. Tiesha covers various stories on the website.