I heard that rare black diamonds might have come from outer space. Is there any truth to this?

The origin of black diamonds, or Carbonado, has long posed a mystery to geologists, and some scientists theorize that the rare black diamonds might have in fact come from outer space. Carbonado is exceedingly rare, found exclusively in the Central African Republic and in Brazil. The black diamonds are an aggregate of black carbon crystals containing traces of hydrogen and other minerals which are rare on earth, which suggests that they were not formed deep in the earth's crust like regular white and colored diamonds. They are also not associated with kimberlite pipes like regular earthly diamonds, which residual volcanic pipes which generally bring diamonds formed deep in the earth's crust to the earth's surface. The black diamonds are also porous, unlike typical diamonds, and are far older - measured to be between 2.6 billion and 3.8 billion years old. There are a few theories as to their origins: 1. They were formed in interstellar space and crashed to earth on a massive asteroid that crashed to earth billions of years ago. Back then, Africa and South America were joined together as a single land mass, which could explain why the diamonds exist in two seemingly unassociated locations. 2. They metamorphised by the intense pressure of a meteor hitting the earth billions of years ago. 3. Their formation was induced by radiation - the spontaneous fission of thorium and uranium. Incidentally, carbonado isn't really used in jewelry because it is the toughest diamond around - it would takes a 20-ton hydraulic press in order to break them, ie, they're not easy to cut.

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