Symbol C
C is part of the quantity the equation computes from the expression on the right.
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Why this formula appears here
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 . But it will refuse an entire class of models outright. For Mercury, MESSENGER radio tracking combined with spin measurements gave C/M = 0.353 0.017 together with a ratio of mantle-plus-crust moment to total moment of 0.452 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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Symbol M
M is part of the quantity the equation computes from the expression on the right.
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Read it with the definitions, units, and assumptions supplied by the article.
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Published contexts (1)
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Equation 4 · Planetary Science
How We Know What Is Inside a Planet
This equation states an equality: the expressions on both sides have the same value under the article’s assumptions.
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 . But it will refuse an entire class of models outright. For Mercury, MESSENGER radio tracking combined with spin measurements gave C/M = 0.353 0.017 together with a ratio of mantle-plus-crust moment to total moment of 0.452 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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