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Equation 14 · Part 2 · How We Know What Is Inside a Planet

=

k2=0.589±0.150k_{2} = 0.589 \pm 0.150
=

What this part means

The expressions on both sides represent the same quantity under the stated assumptions.

Its job in the formula

The equals sign connects the complete expression on the left with the complete expression on the right. Both sides must have compatible units.

The passage around this formula

Cassini flew six flybys of Titan between 2006 and 2011 with a gravity-quality radio link, and Iess and colleagues recovered k2k_{2} = 0.589 ±\pm 0.150 , with an alternative solution of 0.637 ±\pm 0.224 [ 14 ] . Both are far too large for a rigid ice shell over rock and are consistent with a global ocean at depth [ 14 ] . The measurement did not see the ocean; it measured how much the whole moon flexes each orbit, and only a decoupled shell flexes that much.

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Learn the underlying idea

An equals sign says that the expression on its left and the expression on its right have the same value under the stated definitions and assumptions.

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Sources cited in the surrounding passage

These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.