Structure of the Earth Structure of the Earth The internal structure of the Earth is layered in spherical shells: an outer silicate solid crust, a highly viscous asthenosphere and mantle, a liquid outer core that is much less viscous than the mantle, and a solid inner core. Scientific understanding of the internal structure of the Earth is based on observations of topography and bathymetry, observations of rock in outcrop, samples brought to the surface from greater depths by volcanoes or volcanic activity, analysis of the seismic waves that pass through the Earth, measurements of the gravitational and magnetic fields of the Earth, and experiments
Geology of the Moon radius. The crust of the Moon is on average about 50 km thick (though this is uncertain by about ±15 km). It is widely believed that the far-side crust is on average thicker than the near side by about 15 km. Seismology has constrained the thickness of the crust only near the "Apollo 12" and "14" landing sites. Although the initial "Apollo"-era analyses suggested a crustal thickness of about 60 km at this site, recent reanalyses of this data suggest that it is thinner, somewhere between about 30 and 45 km. Compared with that of Earth, the Moon has only