So all that can be said is that at some slightly indeterminate point as we head toward the center of Earth we leave the asthenosphere and plunge into pure mantle. Considering that it accounts for 82 percent of the Earth's volume and 65 percent of its mass, the mantle doesn't attract a great deal of attention, largely because the things that interest Earth scientists and general readers alike happen either deeper down (as with magnetism) or nearer the surface (as with earthquakes). We know that to a depth of about a hundred miles the mantle consists predominantly of a type of rock known as peridotite, but what fills the space beyond is uncertain. According to a Nature report, it seems not to be peridotite. More than this we do not know.

Beneath the mantle are the two cores—a solid inner core and a liquid outer one. Needless to say, our understanding of the nature of these cores is indirect, but scientists can make some reasonable assumptions. They know that the pressures at the center of the Earth are sufficiently high—something over three million times those found at the surface—to turn any rock there solid. They also know from Earth's history (among other clues) that the inner core is very good at retaining its heat. Although it is little more than a guess, it is thought that in over four billion years the temperature at the core has fallen by no more than 200 degrees Fahrenheit. No one knows exactly how hot the Earth's core is, but estimates range from something over 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit to 13,000 degrees Fahrenheit—about as hot as the surface of the Sun.