By compressing iron oxide to pressures expected inside a large and rocky exoplanet, scientists discovered that such mantles could layer, mix, and flow in ways very different from those inside our planet.
planetary interiors
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Moon’s Largest Crater Holds Clues About Early Lunar Mantle
An ancient impact splashed evidence of the Moon’s early mantle makeup onto its surface. Now researchers are piecing together models, maps, and samples to bring these mysteries to light.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
What Happened When the Lithosphere of Venus Broke?
Although Venus does not have plate tectonics today, previous episodes of intense tectonic activity could have resulted in a distribution of crustal thickness and age resembling the plate we see today.
Posted inAGU News
The Wobbly Anomaly and Other Magnetic Weirdness
From the connection between Earth’s core and life on the surface, way out to the ends of the solar system, this month’s issue of Eos takes a look at the study of magnetic fields.
Posted inNews
Airless Exoplanet’s Mantle Could Flow in Halves
With no atmosphere in the way, measurements of the planet’s surface temperature are the first observational constraints on mantle convection models for an exoplanet.
Posted inFeatures
Remaking a Planet One Atom at a Time
When is a planet not a planet? Where does helium rain? How can water be solid and liquid at the same time? For answers, scientists put common planetary materials under extreme pressure and watched what happened next.
Posted inNews
A Longer-Lived Magnetic Field for Mars
New research indicates Mars’s dynamo may have been active for millions of years longer than previously thought.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Using Saturn’s Rings as a Seismometer
The Cassini spacecraft observed spiral density waves in the rings of Saturn which can be used to probe its interior structure and rotation.
Posted inNews
Ancient Impact’s Seismic Waves Reveal Pluto’s Ocean, Core
By modeling the waves produced by a massive, ancient impact, scientists have begun to unlock the secrets of Pluto’s interior.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
The Freshest Mineral Water in the Solar System
The water-rich plumes erupting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus show the chemical signs of water-rock interactions deep within the moon, further implicating Enceladus as a potential habitat for life.