New Tool to Model Planet Interiors
TNRTB Archive – Retained for reference information
Satellite observations provide unprecedented tools to map the interior of planets—a find that may soon demonstrate that Earth is fine-tuned for life. Until recently, the only way to understand the interior construction of a planet relied on measurements made from the planet’s surface. However, using data from three different satellites, a Dutch team of scientists produced a model of Earth’s interior that matched models derived from ground-based data. This work opens the possibility of mapping out the interior structure of other planets and moons in the solar system using orbiting satellites, which are substantially less expensive than instruments that must be landed on the planets’ surfaces. RTB’s creation model predicts that results derived from other planets’ and moons’ interiors will provide additional evidence of fine-tuning in Earth’s structure. Without this design, Earth’s plate tectonics and magnetic field would deteriorate so rapidly that long-standing life, and ultimately advance life, would not be possible.
- Alexei Kuvshinov and Nils Olsen, “A Global Model of Mantle Conductivity Derived from 5 Years of CHAMP, Ørsted, and SAC-C Magnetic Data,” Geophysical Research Letters 33 (2006): L18301.
- https://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2006/2006GL027083.shtml
- Related Resource
- Product Spotlight
- Journey Toward Creation, 2nd ed., with Hugh Ross