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Equation 4 · Part 1 · How We Know What Is Inside a Planet

Symbol C

C/MR2=0.353±0.017C/MR^{2} = 0.353 \pm 0.017
CC

What this part means

C is part of the quantity the equation computes from the expression on the right.

Its job in the formula

C is part of the quantity the equation computes from the expression on the right.

The passage around this formula

What a moment-of-inertia factor rules out is more reliable than what it establishes. It is a single number, so it cannot distinguish a small dense core under a light mantle from a larger, less dense core under a heavier one; infinitely many radial density profiles share the same I∗I^{*} . But it will refuse an entire class of models outright. For Mercury, MESSENGER radio tracking combined with spin measurements gave C/MR2R^{2} = 0.353 ±\pm 0.017 together with a ratio of mantle-plus-crust moment to total moment of 0.452 ±\pm 0.035 , a combination consistent with a solid silicate outer shell over an iron-sulfide layer, a liquid iron-rich outer core and possibly a solid inner core [ 7 ] . Seven years…

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Sources cited in the surrounding passage

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