Do Uranus and Neptune really have oceans made of diamonds?

Neptune and Uranus are estimated to be made up of 10% carbon. A large ocean of liquid diamond could deflect or tilt the magnetic field out of alignment with the rotation of the planet. read more

But Uranus and Neptune have very high pressure atmospheres. High enough to have liquid diamonds. And they have carbon, which diamonds are made of. We know their upper atmospheres contain lots of methane, because we can see how the methane absorbs sunlight - methane absorbs red sunlight and is the reason both Neptune and Uranus are kind of blueish. read more

Neptune and Uranus are estimated to be made up of 10% carbon. A large ocean of liquid diamond could deflect or tilt the magnetic field out of alignment with the rotation of the planet. The only way scientists can know for sure if liquid diamond exists on these gas giant planets is either by sending a scientific spacecraft to one of them or by simulating the conditions on earth. read more

An ocean of diamond could help explain the orientation of Uranus' and Neptune's magnetic field as well, said Eggert. Roughly speaking, the Earth's magnetic poles match up with the geographic poles. The magnetic and geographic poles on Uranus and Neptune do not match up; in fact, they can be up to 60 degrees off of the north-south axis. read more