The Red Planet doesn’t really look like Earth after all. Scientists have found fundamental differences in the size, nature, density and chemical composition of the Martian core.
The basics in brief
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Using the latest seismometric data from NASA’s “Mars InSight” spacecraft, researchers have been able to obtain an image of the Martian core.
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This is smaller than assumed and has a high percentage of light elements.
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In addition, the pulp is likely to be quite liquid.
Is the composition of Mars similar to the composition of the planet Earth? The first impression can arise because both planets originated from similar starting materials and in the same region of the primordial cloud. However, there are fundamental differences.
Earth versus the Moon
The magnetic field, plate tectonics, and active volcanic activity are features of Earth that Mars lacks. However, NASA’s Mars InSight probe, which has been on Mars since 2018, has recorded more than 1,300 earthquakes. These seismic waves help planetary researchers draw conclusions about natureAnd density And Temperature to close the interior of Mars.
information about Mars anatomy And Build his coat It can already provide “InSight Data”.
The size, texture, and density of the Martian core
With the help of several different analysis methods, the research team was able to extract and evaluate weak fundamental waves from countless background noise and complex seismograms. As a result, they found that essence Mars is one The radius is from 1,780 to 1,810 kilometers It has, and therefore it is not even half the size of the Earth.
Likewise, the data speaks for one Fully liquid inner core The Red Planet, as described by first author Jesica Irving of the University of Bristol and colleagues. This may explain why Mars has not developed a permanent global magnetic field.
previous results the density of the Martian core modified. This was previously 6.0 grams per cubic centimeter – this has now been increased to 6.16 to 6.35 grams per cubic centimeter.
The chemical composition of Mars’ core
Whether the differences between Mars and Earth were created by slightly different planetary building blocks or whether they only evolved in the course of layer formation and further development could depend on exact chemical composition be determined. Thus, seismometric data also provides scientists with information about the chemical composition of the Martian core.
Until now this had been assumed to consist of liquid iron mixed with small amounts of sulfur. The new data indicates that there must be other light elements in the Martian core. Evidence points to matchsticks About 16.5 percent by weight, about three percent oxygenabout 1.3 percent carbon and 0.5 to 0.6 percent hydrogen. silicon However, the core of Mars seems to contain almost nothing – different as the core of the earth Explain the researchers.
“The data shows that the Martian core should contain a total of about 20.3 to 21.4 percent by weight of the light elements,” according to the Irving team’s report. On the other hand, the liquid outer core contains about half the amount of light elements – additives are estimated at about twelve percent.
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