Planetary core

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Image:Terrestial Planets internal en.jpg The planetary core consists of the innermost layer(s) of a planet.

The cores of terrestrial planets tend to be mainly composed of iron and can include a solid and/or a liquid layer. Earth's core is partially liquid, whilst the cores of Mars and Venus are thought to be completely molten, due to their lack of an internally generated magnetic field.<ref name="magneto">Luhmann, J. G., Russell, C. T. (1997). "Mars: Magnetic Field and Magnetosphere". Encyclopedia of Planetary Sciences: 454-6.</ref>. In our solar system, core size can range from about 20% (the Moon) to 75% of a planet's radius (Mercury).

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