In the storms of Neptune, a discovery was made
It rains diamonds on Neptune
YEAR: YEAR: 1989
SPACECRAFT: voyager 2
MISSION:
To conduct a flyby of Neptune and its moons and study its atmosphere. It was the first and only spacecraft to visit Neptune and provided valuable data and images of the planet and its system of moons.
The Crew
Observation
The spacecraft detected dark spots on Neptune's surface, which were later found to be massive storms in the planet's atmosphere. These storms produced intense winds and heavy rain in the form of methane droplets.
Anomaly
The storms were much larger and more powerful than any seen on Earth. The ship sustained damage forcing our crew to make an emergency landing on Neptune. Once the storm had passed the crew had minutes to conduct data collection and escape the next storm.
Discovery
Among the samples collected was hail with a molecular resemblance to diamond crystals. They concluded that as the methane droplets fell through the atmosphere, they encountered layers where the pressure and temperature were just right for diamond formation, causing the carbon atoms to bond together and create tiny diamond crystals.
Post-Mission Phase
Members of the crew later launched a collection of diamonds from Neptune, called Neptune’s Collection, as a reminder of the mission and to share with the world.
