Cross section through a class M world, featuring the inner and outer cores
The planetary core is the innermost layers at the center of a planet. Cores can be composed of solid or liquid layers. (ST reference: Star Charts)
History and specifics[]
Hundreds of years prior to 2266, a meteorite collided with the planet Metamorpha and penetrated to its core, bringing about rapid chemical changes. The planet was stabilized when Spock had an atomic missile carrying certain chemicals fired into the core. (TOS comic: "The Peril of Planet Quick Change")
In 2267, Commander Krell reassured his men they would look back on the sedate world of Neural with pride from palaces once they had conquered it and mined its rich mineral wealth to the core. (ST - Klingons - Blood Will Tell comic: "Issue 3")
One of the Dax symbiont's hosts was involved in operations working with Hortas to mine planetary cores. (DS9 novel: Devil in the Sky)
The planet Phaedra had a dense liquid metallic core that reversed polarity at 72.3 Earth year intervals. The world itself had a 10-hour day, and the planet's poles changed unpredictably, independent of the core's polarity, generating earthquakes, electrical storms, and other paleomagnetic effects. Led by xenogeologist Adrienne Tillstrom, scientists at Science Station Beta Epsilon studied this unusual circumstance. (TNG novel: Grounded)
According to myth, the core of Tzenketh contained the deity who created Tzenkethi civilization. Its core was smaller than normal for a planet of its size. Over a span of eons, the core began cooling. It became exposed to the crust, resulting in planet-wide earthquakes of increasing seismic strength in the 24th century. In 2378, the world had only a span of hours before it collapsed. A warp core from the USS Theseus was beamed underground, successfully stabilizing the planet. (ST - IDW Star Trek - A Savage World of Glass and Bone comics: "Part 2", "Part 4", "Part 6")
Appendices[]
Connections[]
- Planetary core article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.