User:Seddon/Saturn's Core

Saturn's core is a hypothesised innermost layer of the planet Saturn. No direct means exists to explore the lowest layers of Saturn, and so what is know has been based on interpretation of the planets gravitation field.

Built on this interpretation, the core's existence is inferred from the sequential accretion hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that gas and ice giants first form due to the coalescing of heavy elements into planetesimals and proto-planets. Unlike Jupiter, Saturn's core appears to significantly differentiated and is up to three times more massive than Jupiter. Saturn's high heavy element content in its atmosphere leads to two possible implications for Saturn's core. The first is that the surface of Saturn's core undergoes erosional processes which leads to diffusion of heavy elements into its atmosphere. The second possibility is that lower energy impacts of smaller planetesimals in the later stages of Saturns formation resulted in the formation of a significantly larger core, along with introducing heavier elements into its atmosphere.

Formation
Saturns core likely formed between 10

As they approach a critical mass of between 3 and 10 Earth masses, the planetesimals more readily accrete gas and transform into gas giants. It is primarily a solid ball with an estimate radius of about x,xxx km, which is about x% of Earth's radius.

Informations about Saturns

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/756/1/70