Diamonds rain on gas giants
Extreme atmospheric pressure and lightning on Saturn and Jupiter convert methane into carbon soot that hardens into solid diamonds, which eventually melt into liquid rain as they descend toward the planetary cores.
Atmospheric conditions on Saturn and Jupiter facilitate the precipitation of thousand-ton diamond hailstorms annually. The process begins in the upper atmosphere, where massive lightning strikes crack methane molecules into elemental carbon soot. As this carbon descends through the crushing depths of the gas giants, increasing heat and pressure transform the soot first into graphite and then into solid diamonds.
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