Number 68 (Story #4), February 21, 1992 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein SUPERNOVAS PRODUCE DIAMOND DUST . Donald Clayton of Clemson University has calculated that as much as one-thousandth of a solar mass of diamond may have been produced in Supernova 1987A. Clayton came to this conclusion after studying the relative abundance of diamonds and other elements, such as the heavy isotopes of rare gases, in meteorites. (New Scientist, 8 Feb. 1992.)