Submitted by DivergentKing38 t3_yhcncs in explainlikeimfive
I just saw a post showing that Jupiter’s red eye has been shrinking over time, which lead me to thinking about what the core of the gas giants must be like. I still can’t wrap my head around the idea that the outer planets (except Pluto), are just made up of gas. Wouldn’t at some point within the planet the pressure would just be so high that a solid/liquid core would form? Or does the immense pressure mean that the core is way to hot for something to form?
Marlsfarp t1_iud3cus wrote
No, you are correct that as the pressure increases, it eventually compresses to liquid and solid. And bathe cores of the planets are made of heavier elements that are solid anyway. But they are mostly gas.