How did Earth avoid a Mars-like fate? Ancient rocks hold clues

Approximately 1,800 miles beneath our feet, swirling liquid iron in the Earth's outer core generates our planet's protective magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is vital for life on Earth's surface because ...

Image: Aerial antenna for Venus mission test

How can you accurately test a space antenna down here on Earth when it has been scaled up to penetrate the subterranean depths of another planet? This was the question faced by SENER in Spain, currently designing a candidate ...

Ironing out the interiors of exoplanets

The discovery of more than 4,500 extra-solar planets has created a need for modelling their interior structure and dynamics. As it turns out, iron plays a key role.

Did the Earth tip on its side 84 million years ago?

Hold on to your hats, because scientists have found more evidence that Earth tips over from time to time. We know that the continents are moving slowly due to plate tectonics, but continental drift only pushes the tectonic ...

Earth's 'solid' inner core may contain both mushy and hard iron

3,200 miles beneath Earth's surface lies the inner core, a ball-shaped mass of mostly iron that is responsible for Earth's magnetic field. In the 1950's, researchers suggested the inner core was solid, in contrast to the ...

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