UPSC Articles
Mercury’s iron heart
Part of: GS Prelims and GS – III – Sci & Tech
In news A study by researchers from the University of Maryland disputes the prevailing hypothesis on why Mercury has a big-sized core relative to its mantle (the layer between its core and crust).
About the new study
- Scientists had argued that hit-and-run collisions with other bodies during the formation of our solar system resulted in much of Mercury’s rocky mantle being removed, leaving behind the big, dense, metal core inside.
- But new research reveals that Sun’s magnetism is the reason for this and not the collisions.
- The researchers developed a model showing that the density, mass and iron content of a rocky planet’s core are influenced by its distance from the Sun’s magnetic field.
- There is a gradient in which the metal content in the core drops off as the four inner planets of our solar system get further from the Sun.
- The current work explains this by showing that the distribution of raw materials in the early forming solar system was controlled by the Sun’s magnetic field.
- The new model shows that during the early formation of our solar system, when the young Sun was surrounded by a swirling cloud of dust and gas, grains of iron were drawn toward the centre by the Sun’s magnetic field.
- When the planets began to form from clumps of that dust and gas, planets closer to the sun incorporated more iron into their cores than those further away.
News Source: TH
