How Many Carats?

*Blogger's note: sorry for the inconsistent posting of late; learning a new job that's eating my brain. Once that stabilizes -- for the eaten brain never will -- I will be back on a more consistent basis. And no, that doesn't mean for you to contact my new employer and bury them under "keep him BUSY!" emails*

In a world where, amongst the elite, "biggest is bestest", I would love to see how this one will play out.

Sky watchers in Australia believe that they have found an alien planet that is a true "diamond in the rough". Literally. Aussie sky watchers located what they call a millisecond pulsar -- a neutron star that was born of a supernova, the space version of large sections of Detroit ("okay, nothing more to see here, let's blow it ALLLL UP and start over") -- that has been officially named PSRJ1719-1438.

Since astronomers use up all of their brainiac-ity on complex physics and cosmic algebraicgeotrig, they apparently have nothing left over for coming up with creative names for new stuff.

Anyway, as I understand it -- and being a tad behind on my physics-algebraicgeotrig, like to the tune of 100 to the terrabyte power -- certain cosmic forces have combined to blow up a supernova, sucking the life out of a white dwarf neutron star thingee, which has become through trial and cosmic error a very compact, rapidly-rotating millisecond pulsar, that is an exceptionally dense 12 miles across. Almost as dense as Ed "Sgt" Schultz.

And in the process of this deep space cosmic renewal and geometric trigonometric physics sh**, PSRJ1719-1438 is now allegedly being orbited by a 37,300 mile-diametered alien planet...that astronomers believe to be...a diamond.

I'm sure someone out there can calculate the carats of something like that. I can't, not being an algebraicgeotrig physics wonk.

Belatedly -- and to avoid a gemologist stampede to the stars -- scientists are referring to it as an "alien planet". But the assumed fact of the matter/antimatter is -- if the algebraicgeotrig physics geeks are right -- orbiting a millisecond pulsar, is the universe's biggest knowd diamond.

And while I'm sure that Paris Hilton's people have been in contact with Richard Branson's people (Virgin Air/Spaceways), perhaps they might want to consider -- really hard -- not ONLY the logistics of bringing a 37,300 mile diametered diamond back to some celebrity gemologist to make into a polished gem bar none; they'll have to overcome one other slight little logistical hurdle: it's 4,000 light years from Earth.

Last time I checked, connecting flight schedules are few and far between us, h'yah, and that constellation Serpens, th'yah.

Meantime, since brainiac-ity fails to do christening justice to millisecond pulsar PB&J1719'n7/8ths, I think we ought to help them at least name the alien planet diamond. A contest started now, has all the demonstrated human talents and abilities of coming up with a truly fitting name, when Richard Branson's millenia-from-now descendants, manage to return with the largest diamond the world might ever see.

Unless they get there in 4,000 light years, to find it's a cosmic email scam.

Meantime, I vote that we name the diamond planet....Jill St. John.

Just sayin'...