'Diamond' Super-Earth Planet May Not Be So Glam

An alien planet thought to be made largely of diamond may be less than glittering inside, new research shows.

The notion of a diamond planet hinges on an abundance of carbon. A few years ago, scientists reported that the star at the center of a solar system 40 light-years from our own had a carbon-to-oxygen ratio greater than one.

"This observation helped motivate a paper last year about the innermost planet of the system, the 'super-Earth' 55 Cancri e," University of Arizona astronomy graduate student Johanna Teske, explained in a statement