Except for the thin crust we live on, Earth's structure is intangible deep beneath our feet, and as a result hard to imagine. Foods are often used to demonstrate how Earth is made of four main layers, ...

Deep inside Earth is a solid metal ball that rotates independently of our spinning planet, like a top whirling around inside a bigger top, shrouded in mystery. This inner core has intrigued ...

Scientists have long thought Earth's inner core is like a huge solid metal ball. But an experiment revealed it may be a lot softer — more like butter, a lead scientist said. It could help explain why ...

Deep beneath our feet, far below the crust and mantle, researchers now argue that matter behaves in a way that does not fit the familiar categories of solid or liquid. At the center of Earth, they say ...

Deep beneath our feet, far beyond the reach of any drill, new research suggests that Earth’s center is far more intricate than a simple metal ball. Instead of a single solid sphere, the inner core ...

The Earth’s inner core is incredibly tricky to study, since it’s buried beneath thousands of miles of rock. New seismic studies suggest that it’s not just a solid ball of iron, as has been assumed, ...

Earth’s inner core, a solid metal ball gyrating within the molten outer core, may be both slowing down and changing shape. Recent analyses of earthquake waves have suggested that around 15 years ago, ...

Deep beneath our feet, at a staggering depth of over 5,100km, lies Earth's inner core — a solid ball of iron and nickel that plays a crucial role in shaping the conditions we experience on the surface ...

Geophysicist John Vidale noticed something striking while tracking the way seismic waves move from Earth’s crust through its core. The very center of the planet, a solid ball of iron and nickel ...

Researchers have been aware for a few years that our inner core may not be the simple, solid ball of metal that we believed it to be. Seismic waves have illuminated that the core doesn’t appear to be ...

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Why Trust Us? A new study analyzing decades of seismogram data shows that physical changes can ...

The inner core is made mostly of iron and nickel, and it is estimated to be as hot as the surface of the sun — about 9,800 degrees Fahrenheit (5,400 degrees Celsius). Earth's magnetic field yanks at ...