Soft center.Scientists have long assumed that Mercury has a solid core. Not so: A new study suggests the tiny planet has a molten interior similar to that of Earth. Using powerful telescopes, astronomer Jean-Luc Margot Jean-Luc Margot is an astronomer and an Assistant Professor at Cornell University. He is originally from Belgium. He specializes in planetary sciences. He was awarded the H. C. Urey Prize by the American Astronomical Society in 2004. The asteroid 9531 Jean-Luc is named after him. of Cornell University Cornell University, mainly at Ithaca, N.Y.; with land-grant, state, and private support; coeducational; chartered 1865, opened 1868. It was named for Ezra Cornell, who donated $500,000 and a tract of land. With the help of state senator Andrew D. in Ithaca, New York
For other places or objects named Ithaca, see Ithaca (disambiguation). , studied how Mercury spins on its axis. He noticed that the rate of its spin is different from that of a solid planet. Margot says it's similar to how a raw egg with a runny run·ny adj. run·ni·er, run·ni·est Inclined to run or flow: runny icing; a runny nose. runny Adjective [-nier, -niest interior spins differently from a hard-boiled egg. Mercury's peculiar spin is a clue that its interior is molten. |
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