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Jun 12, 2008 · In order to be able to dig down to the center of the Earth, my friends and I would have needed to dig our way through 6,378 km of rock, mantle, and iron. Most of this journey would be through ...
Nov 17, 2020 · The final frontier isn’t space: It’s the Earth itself. We’ve sent people to the moon, robots to Mars and the New Horizons space probe 3.26 billion miles from Earth to snap photos of Pluto, while just 4,000 miles beneath our feet, unfathomable heat and pressure keep the center of the Earth tantalizingly out of reach.
- The Inner CORE
- The Outer CORE
- The Mantle
- The Crust
This solid metal ball has a radius of 1,220 kilometers (758 miles), or about three-quarters that of the moon. It’s located some 6,400 to 5,180 kilometers (4,000 to 3,220 miles) beneath Earth’s surface. Extremely dense, it’s made mostly of iron and nickel. The inner core spins a bit faster than the rest of the planet. It’s also intensely hot: Temper...
This part of the core is also made from iron and nickel, just in liquid form. It sits some 5,180 to 2,880 kilometers (3,220 to 1,790 miles) below the surface. Heated largely by the radioactive decay of the elements uranium and thorium, this liquid churns in huge, turbulent currents. That motion generates electrical currents. They, in turn, generate...
At close to 3,000 kilometers (1,865 miles) thick, this is Earth’s thickest layer. It starts a mere 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) beneath the surface. Made mostly of iron, magnesium and silicon, it is dense, hot and semi-solid (think caramel candy). Like the layer below it, this one also circulates. It just does so far more slowly. Near its upper edges...
Earth’s crust is like the shell of a hard-boiled egg. It is extremely thin, cold and brittle compared to what lies below it. The crust is made of relatively light elements, especially silica, aluminum and oxygen. It’s also highly variable in its thickness. Under the oceans (and Hawaiian Islands), it may be as little as 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) thic...
Nov 27, 2020 · The center of Earth is almost as hot as the surface of the Sun, about 9,800 degrees Fahrenheit, with pressure that makes the compressive forces at the ocean floor look like child’s play.
May 1, 2024 · Earth’s core is the very hot, very dense center of our planet. The ball-shaped core lies beneath the cool, brittle crust and the mostly solid mantle. The core is found about 2,900 kilometers (1,802 miles) below Earth’s surface, and has a radius of about 3,485 kilometers (2,165 miles). Planet Earth is older than the core.
May 29, 2012 · DEEP THOUGHTS Jules Verne's classic "A Journey to the Center of the Earth" has inspired several film versions, including one in 2008.
Jan 23, 2023 · Journey to the center of the Earth. As a professor of earth and planetary sciences, ... (100 kilometers) deep, the temperature is about 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit (1,300 degrees Celsius).
