by Strange hexagonal diamonds may have been jettisoned into space when a dwarf planet collided with a large asteroid around 4.5 billion years ago.
New research identified the hexagonal diamonds, also called lonsdaleite, in a rare class of meteorites that might come from the mantle of a dwarf planet.
Like graphite, charcoal and diamond, lonsdaleite is a particular structural form of carbon.
Where diamond's carbon atoms are arranged in a cubic shape, the carbon atoms in lonsdaleite are arranged in hexagons.
Source
New research identified the hexagonal diamonds, also called lonsdaleite, in a rare class of meteorites that might come from the mantle of a dwarf planet.
Like graphite, charcoal and diamond, lonsdaleite is a particular structural form of carbon.
Where diamond's carbon atoms are arranged in a cubic shape, the carbon atoms in lonsdaleite are arranged in hexagons.
Source
