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They are planets that rain diamonds the size of people inside of them. One of them was smacked so hard by another planet that it now orbits its sun out of kilter with its famous neighbors. The planets represent both the chaotic formation of their solar system and the shepherds of its stability.
One of the planets has been the brunt of so many bad human puns that astronomical research about it has been actually been set back. We’re talking Uranus and Neptune, of course. As science writer Corey Powell explains in the wonderfully informative and entertaining video below, in conversation with Nautilus editor Kevin Berger, the two planets constitute our solar system’s unsung marvels. In the video, Corey explains why Uranus and Neptune are his favorite planets and what makes them special. His conversation with Kevin is the perfect primer of his article, “The Planets with the Giant Diamonds Inside,” featured online in Nautilus and on the cover of our most recent print journal.
