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Dr. Jie Li from the University of Michigan (USA) led a research team that made an important discovery. According to them, the universe contains a previously unknown type of planet called soot planets with a large number but mistaken for ocean worlds . Photo: Ari Gea/SayoStudio.

$In astronomy, soot is not exactly the same as soot on Earth. Instead, soot in astronomy refers to refractory organic carbon – a compound containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, abbreviated as CHON. Image: ESO/M. Kornmesser.$

In astronomy, soot is not exactly the same as soot on Earth. Instead, soot in astronomy refers to refractory organic carbon – a compound containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, abbreviated as CHON. Image: ESO/M. Kornmesser.

This carbon-rich material is also common in the Solar System, with estimates suggesting it makes up as much as 40% of the total mass of comets. Image: WM Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko.

Because comets are considered snapshots of the early history of the Solar System, particularly in the preplanetary period, their composition suggests that soot was abundant during the time when the planets were forming. Image: WM Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko.

According to the team, the “sooty boundary,” which lies closer to the star than the “snow boundary,” would define the region where soot can exist and contribute significantly to the composition of developing planets. Image: WM Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko.

The authors also suggest that other star systems typically have three distinct protoplanetary disk regions, each of which would produce a distinct type of planet. The inner region would only produce rocky bodies like Earth and Mars, with temperatures too hot for soot to stick together, making soot in this region very unlikely. Photo: Future Publishing Ltd.

Beyond the soot boundary but before the snow boundary, planets could form mostly from soot, but with very little water because temperatures are still too hot for water ice to exist. These planets look a lot like Saturn’s moon Titan, with an atmosphere of methane or something similar, and could contain up to 25% soot by mass. Image: NASA.

Beyond the “snow boundary,” most planets would be hybrid “soot-water worlds,” where soot still plays an important role in the planet’s composition, and so does water. Image: NASA/ESA/ES.

A known world called TOI-280d, a sub-Neptune, is thought to be this type of planet. It has methane and carbon dioxide in its atmosphere and may have a diamond core. Image: SciTechDaily.com.

Diamond cores slow down the cycling of volatiles in the planet’s mantle and are unlikely to generate a magnetic field to protect any primitive life from cosmic rays, researchers say. However, they would also be filled with methane and other volatile organic compounds, which are thought to be a prerequisite for prebiotic chemistry. Photo: universetoday.

Unexpected discovery of 'sooty planet' with diamond core

New research published by experts shows that the "soot planet" possesses a crust, a mantle rich in organic carbon that is difficult to melt and a core made of diamond.