Astronomers of the California Institute of Technology in Pasaden, found out that Saturn’s core has fuzzy borders. To this conclusion they came on the basis of the study of oscillations in the rings of the gas giant. This is reported in the article published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Researchers studied the data obtained using the NASA Cassini spacecraft, which rotated around Saturn for 13 years before burning in the atmosphere of the gas giant in 2017. The oscillations of the Saturn rings are a kind of seismic activity, according to which the structure of the decrees of the planet can be determined, similar to how the internal structure of the Earth was determined by the underground shocks.
Results refute a popular myth that the core of the planet is a solid stone ball. In fact, it is more like a diffuse “soup” from ice, rocks and metal liquids – the so-called “fuzzy” core (Eng. Fuzzy Core). In addition, it takes 60 percent of the diameter of the planet, which makes it much more than the astronomers assumed. The kernel is 55 times the massively of the entire land, of which 17 mass of the Earth make up ice and rock, and the rest is a liquid from hydrogen and helium.
The obtained data reject existing models for the formation of gas giants, according to which rock kernels are first forming, and then large gas shells are attracted. If the cores of such planets are really fuzzy, then the gas can be included in the formation process at an earlier stage.