These illustrations show three versions of a rocky planet with different amounts of internal heating from radioactive elements. The middle planet is Earth-like, with plate tectonics and an internal ...

On Earth, continents are likely necessary to support life. Continents "float" on top of the Earth's viscous mantle, and heat from the planet's core keeps the mantle from solidifying and locking the ...

Europa, one of Jupiter's many moons, may be capable of supporting life because its icy surface likely obscures a deep, salty ocean. Europa's ocean is also in direct contact with its mantle rocks, and ...

In a recent study published in American Geophysical Union Advances, computer models can elucidate how the geologic activity on dwarf planet Ceres could be explained by decaying radiogenic elements ...