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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Mars's Liquid Center Cooling in Unusual Manner, Study Suggests


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Mars' core, as depicted in the artist's rendering above, is probably liquid, according to a new study.

The research team used a device called a high-pressure anvil to squeeze iron, nickel, and sulfur—common elements in the Martian core—to estimate the core's consistency and predict how it will solidify.

Image courtesy NASA