Mantle (geology) Mantle (geology) The mantle is a layer inside a planetary body bounded below by a core and above by a crust. Mantles are made of rock or ices, and are generally the largest and most massive layer of the planetary body. Mantles are characteristic of planetary bodies that have undergone differentiation by density. All terrestrial planets (including Earth), a number of asteroids, and some planetary moons have mantles. The Earth's mantle is a layer of silicate rock between the crust and the outer core. Its mass of 4.01 × 10 kg is 67% the mass of the Earth. It has
Geology of the Moon of this, it has been noted that the largest crustal magnetizations appear to be located near the antipodes of the largest impact basins. Although the Moon does not have a dipolar magnetic field like Earth's, some of the returned rocks do have strong magnetizations. Furthermore, measurements from orbit show that some portions of the lunar surface are associated with strong magnetic fields. Geology of the Moon The geology of the Moon (sometimes called selenology, although the latter term can refer more generally to "lunar science") is quite different from that of Earth. The Moon lacks a significant atmosphere, which eliminates