Geologists have discovered that black, or carbonado, diamonds come from interstellar space. Infrared synchrotron radiation at Brookhaven National Laboratory was used to discover the diamonds' source. The discovery of nitrogen and hydrogen trace elements confirm such an origin. This accounts for the fact that while approximately 600 tons of conventional diamonds have been mined, traded, polished and adorned since 1900, not one black/carbonado diamond has ever been found in any mine. The new data support earlier research showing that carbonado diamonds formed in stellar supernovae explosions. Black diamonds were once the size of asteroids, a kilometer or more in diameter when they first landed on Earth. The term carbonado was coined by the Portuguese in Brazil in the mid-18th century; it is derived from its visual similarity to porous charcoal. Black diamonds are found only in Brazil and the Central African Republic.