Iron planet

An iron planet is a type of planet that consists primarily of an iron-rich core with little or no mantle. Mercury is the largest celestial body of this type in the Solar System, but larger iron-rich exoplanets may exist.

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Origin

Iron-rich planets may be the remnants of normal metal/silicate rocky planets whose rocky mantles were stripped away by giant impacts. Some are believed to consist of diamond fields. Current planet formation models predict iron-rich planets will form in close-in orbits or orbiting massive stars where the protoplanetary disk presumably consists of iron-rich material.[1]

Characteristics

Iron-rich planets are smaller and more dense than other types of planets of comparable mass.[2] Such planets would have no plate tectonics or strong magnetic field as they cool rapidly after formation.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Characteristics of Terrestrial Planets" by John Chambers, from "The Great Planet Debate: Science as Process", August 14–16, 2008, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Kossiakoff Center, Laurel, MD. http://gpd.jhuapl.edu/abstracts/abstractFiles/chambers_abstract.pdf
  2. ^ http://www.astrobio.net/pressrelease/2476/all-planets-possible