We, as a race, have just emerged from the hottest year in recorded history. It’s been getting warmer around here lately and it forces some of us to think about where on Earth we can go when we’ve run out of options. The polar ice is melting, so the poles are out. Where indeed?

Since we can’t seem to reliably keep our planet in good shape, we’ll need to look elsewhere for a new home base. Thank goodness for the Artemis Project, to explore the Moon and learn how to live and work on another world as we prepare for human missions to Mars. Mars! It’s quite a distance and the crew better like each other. It has taken 45 years for Voyager I, our initial foray into interstellar space which is faster than driving from Homestead to Fort Lauderdale during rush hour. It’ll take a lot longer to get to the so called diamond planet!

It’s a newly discovered planet about 40 light years away and twice the size of Earth but having 8 times the earth’s mass. To most Americans, a ‘light’ year is not as long (Or wide) as a ‘heavy’ year which, in our minds, could make the new planet accessible by rocket ship. We never really got the metric system of which ‘light years’ may be a part. We’re confused.

A possible reason for this is that Coca-Cola uses ounces to describe their smaller sizes and liters to describe the larger ones. Why? It’s just one of those unexplained marketing ploys to get us to purchase less soda and pay more money. Think ‘New and Improved’

The good news is that if we can visit this new planet, all our monetary woes will be over.

Scientists have extrapolated that it is mostly made of carbon, and that means it is made partly of diamond. They feel that the planet is mostly graphite and surrounds a thick layer of diamond. Under that layer there are silicon-based minerals and a molten iron core. Forget the molten iron core for a moment and let’s focus on the diamonds. WE’RE RICH!!!!!!!

One of the ‘down sides’ is that its surface is about 3,900 degrees Fahrenheit, but if you convert that to Celsius, it’s only 2148 degrees. That’s a lot cooler, but don’t think you can walk around and pick up precious stones. You’ll need a spacesuit with fire resistant, extra heavy shoes and that’s more than a pair of thick soled Nikes can give you. Those are expensive. You’ll need a sponsor to fund you. Think Coca-Cola. They’ll look on it as a new market. It will be hot up there, but if we land at night, it might not be too bad.

The planet is called 55 Cancri e and is one of five worlds orbiting a sun-like star. Why did they give it an unpronounceable name? Just another of those unexplained mysteries of the universe.

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