What type of core does mercury have

To figure out what the core of Mercury is made of, Genova and his colleagues had to get, figuratively, closer. Radio observations from MESSENGER were used to determine the gravitational anomalies areas of local increases or decreases in mass and the location of its rotational pole, which allowed scientists to understand the orientation of the planet.

Each planet spins on an axis, also known as the pole. Mercury spins much more slowly than Earth, with its day lasting about 58 Earth days. Scientists often use tiny variations in the way an object spins to reveal clues about its internal structure.

But observations of the spin rate alone were not sufficient to give a clear measurement of what the inner core was like. The composition of inner rocky planets is remarkably similar to primitive meteorites. Also known as chondrites, these meteorites are jumbled mixtures of rock and metal in different proportions. Unlike rocky planets, they do not have cores. The raw materials making up the rocky planets are just four unevenly distributed elements: oxygen, iron, magnesium, and silicon.

The core's dynamo generates a magnetic shield that protects us from cancer-causing cosmic rays. Once Mars lost its core dynamo, its surface water disappeared quickly thereafter. The first images of Mercury revealed a cratered, rocky planet that closely resembled Earth's moon. The early days of the solar system, soon after the rocky planet formed, were violent, with constant collisions, and conditions on Mercury preserved evidence of many of these impacts. The crater stretches about miles 1, kilometers across the planet's surface and is surrounded by a ring of mountains 1.

Volcanic vents surrounding the basin's rim suggest that volcanism helped to shape the tiny world. Other evidence for volcanism includes several plains that smoothed over some of the first craters. Most of the plains are covered with craters, suggesting that volcanism took place long ago.

The discovery suggests that Mercury remained active well after its birth. One of Mercury's youngest impact basin, Rachmaninoff, is only about a billion years old. The km diameter peak-ring impact basin has smooth plains on its floor suggestive of lava flows. The lowest point on the planet lies within the basin. Although temperatures on the planet can reach as high as degrees Fahrenheit degrees Celsius , MESSENGER detected water-ice on its surface in the shaded portions of some of the polar craters, where the sun doesn't reach.

According to NASA , a mysterious dark organic matter covers some of the ice, leaving scientists puzzled. In addition to testifying as to the planet's early volcanism, the smooth plains also show evidence of wrinkle ridges, created as the planet squeezed together. Also known as chondrites, these meteorites are jumbled mixtures of rock and metal in different proportions.

Unlike rocky planets, they do not have cores. The raw materials making up the rocky planets are just four unevenly distributed elements: oxygen, iron, magnesium, and silicon. The core's dynamo generates a magnetic shield that protects us from cancer-causing cosmic rays. Once Mars lost its core dynamo, its surface water disappeared quickly thereafter.

Early on in Solar System formation, a cloudy disc of gas and dust surrounded the Sun and planets, serving as a conduit for the Sun's magnetic field. The strength of the magnetic field weakened as it got further away from the Sun. Mercury formed in the prime location - close to where the Sun's magnetic field was strongest, thus explaining its large iron core.