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Updated: Jun 28, 2025

Simulation of the Planetary Interior Differentiation Processes in the Laboratory
Published on: November 15, 2013
Igneous processes in the small bodies of the Solar System II: Small satellites and dwarf planets
Giovanni Leone1,2, Hiroyuki Tanaka2,3,4
1Instituto de Investigación en Astronomía y Ciencias Planetarias, Universidad de Atacama, Copiapó 153000, Región de Atacama, Chile.
Abstract:
Evidence of hot and cold igneous processes has been reported in small satellites and dwarf planets of the Solar System. Olivine and pyroxenes were detected in the spectral bands of both small satellites and dwarf planets. The aqueously altered form of olivine and serpentine has been detected in the spectrums of Ceres and Miranda hinting at possible hydrothermal processes in their interiors. Once more, the ubiquitous distribution of 26Al in the planetary nebula, then evolving in the protoplanetary disk, contributed to the primordial widespread heating. Volcanism, or cryovolcanism, then developed only in those bodies where long-lived radiogenic elements, and/or tidal processes, were available.
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