Editing Planetary core (section)

=== Trends in the Solar System ===

==== Inner rocky planets ====
All of the rocky inner planets, as well as the moon, have an iron-dominant core. Venus and Mars have an additional major element in the core. Venus’ core is believed to be iron-nickel, similarly to Earth. Mars, on the other hand, is believed to have an iron-sulfur core and is separated into an outer liquid layer around an inner solid core.<ref name="stevenson 2001" /> As the orbital radius of a rocky planet increases, the size of the core relative to the total radius of the planet decreases.<ref name="solomon 1979" /> This is believed to be because differentiation of the core is directly related to a body's initial heat, so Mercury's core is relatively large and active.<ref name="solomon 1979" /> Venus and Mars, as well as the moon, do not have magnetic fields. This could be due to a lack of a convecting liquid layer interacting with a solid inner core, as Venus’ core is not layered.<ref name="de pater 2015" /> Although Mars does have a liquid and solid layer, they do not appear to be interacting in the same way that Earth's liquid and solid components interact to produce a dynamo.<ref name="stevenson 2001" />

==== Outer gas and ice giants ====
Current understanding of the outer planets in the solar system, the ice and gas giants, theorizes small cores of rock surrounded by a layer of ice, and in Jupiter and Saturn models suggest a large region of liquid metallic hydrogen and helium.<ref name="de pater 2015" /> The properties of these metallic hydrogen layers is a major area of contention because it is difficult to produce in laboratory settings, due to the high pressures needed.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Castelvecchi|first=Davide|date=2017-01-26|title=Physicists doubt bold report of metallic hydrogen|journal=Nature|volume=542|issue=7639|pages=17|doi=10.1038/nature.2017.21379|pmid=28150796|issn=0028-0836|bibcode=2017Natur.542...17C|doi-access=free}}</ref> Jupiter and Saturn appear to release a lot more energy than they should be radiating just from the sun, which is attributed to heat released by the hydrogen and helium layer. Uranus does not appear to have a significant heat source, but Neptune has a heat source that is attributed to a “hot” formation.<ref name="de pater 2015" />