Talk:Carbon planet
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Why there are no carbon planets (or moons) in the Solar System? There are four gas giants, plenty of rocky bodies composed mostly of silicates and iron, some ice bodies; but where did the carbon go? Carbon is one of the most abundant element in the universe. So why in the Solar System this is so rare?
--Grzes 19:09, 20 November 2005 (UTC)
- Carbon in the solar system tends to be bound up as hydrocarbons (as the most abundant element in the solar system is hydrogen, which readily reacts with carbon). All of the gas giant planets have substantial amounts of methane in their atmospheres. Earth did too in its early life (when it had a reducing atmospher instead of an oxidizing one). I'm kind of suspicious of the "carbon planet" idea in general for this reason (though I suppose it could happen in a hydrogen-poor environment near a bright star, if oxygen and nitrogen were already bound up into compounds). Abundance of the chemical elements lists oxygen as much more common than carbon, suggesting formation of CO2 in hydrogen-poor environments, though I suppose it's possible some bizzare set of circumstances would allow for rare exceptions. --Christopher Thomas 22:16, 8 January 2006 (UTC)
Rare? Well, maybe not so rare. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 87.207.245.228 (talk • contribs) on 20:53, 7 June 2006.
