National Science Foundation - News

By tracking a subtle wobbling of the planet Mercury as it spins about its axis, researchers using a trio of ground-based telescopes have found strong evidence that the planet has a molten core. In their paper, the researchers show that careful measurements of Mercury's spin--to an accuracy of one in 100,000--reveal that the planet's interior is decoupled from its exterior, providing strong evidence of a molten core. Astronomer Jean-Luc Margot of Cornell University, Stan Peale More ...