Nucleation and growth of iron pebbles explains the formation of iron-rich planets akin to Mercury
The pathway to forming the iron-rich planet Mercury remains mysterious. Its core makes up 70% of the planetary mass, which implies a significant enrichment of iron relative to silicates, while its mantle is strongly depleted in oxidised iron. The high core mass fraction is traditionally ascribed to evaporative loss of silicates, for example following a giant impact, but the high abundance of moder
