Photo Source: NOAA

Mining and drilling into the Earth represent the deepest we can go into the land mass. The average depth of the Earth's crust is only about 20 miles before you get into the mantle. The problem with going deeper and deeper into the Earth, is that the heat and pressure increase. The core in the center of the Earth is believed to be about 5000-6000 degrees centigrade. There are theories that state tiny suns are in the center of the planets. Who can really be sure? Much has been written and many movies made about traveling to the center of the Earth. Unfortunately this would be a Herculean task and probably impossible with today's technology. We do have huge boring machines, some of which are look more like a train engine with cars, because of the great length, but even these would take forever to get to the center of the Earth, if they didn't melt or get crushed. Of course they would never get there.

Drawing Source: USCG

But is the Earth actually solid? Most scientists agree that it is and is composed of a crust, mantle, outer core and inner core. But there are some that say it only seems solid because there is a small dense star heating the center but there are many hollow areas inside as you head for that center. There have even been rumors that ancient Mayans had discovered tunnels that went down into the Earth. This has never been proven but some say that some ancient structures that let to the tunnels have blocked them off. At this point this is only speculation but the stories persist.

A article in the Harvard Gazette dated September 26, 2002 entitled "New region discovered at Earth's center" discusses a previously unknown sphere that was found to be inside the Earth and has a diameter of about 360 miles. The sphere was found by a Harvard professor and a graduate student who was working with him. Earthquake waves were examined from the previous 30 years, these waves had passed through the center of the planet. "Its origin remains unknown, but its presence could change our basic ideas about the origin and history of the planet." This sphere might be from when the Earth was formed. It a mystery region of the Earth.

About the deepest anyone or any drill can go into the Earth is about 14km. The reason for this as stated before is both temperature and pressure. The temperature at this point is about 1,000 degrees C, there the pressure is an amazing 1000 atmospheres or 50,000 pounds per sq inch. We mentioned that a few people believe a sun is at the center of our Earth but most believe that Inge Lehmann was right when she said that the Earth had a solid iron core. A new school of thought has arisen and that is, that there may be a core inside the core something like the makeup of a peach pit. There is a speculation that a large asteroid hit the Earth shortly after if formed, causing much of the Earth to melt and that a chunk of Earth might have flown off and made the Moon. There is also the theory that at the center of the Earth lies a core of nichol and silicon and inside that, is a small ball of uranium and that this is were the heat come from in the Earth's center. As you can see there are several theories on why the Earth is so hot once you break through the crust.

The last theory is very interesting because it would mean that the center of the Earth is essentially a nuclear reactor, a reactor that has been burning for billions of years without going out.

A NASA Geophysicist working out of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California is theorizing that the Earth's center shifted during the earthquake that caused the tsunami. He also states that this caused the Earth to spin 3 microseconds faster and tilted the Earth about an inch on its axis. One huge tectonic plate that is under the Indian Ocean went under another plate. "it had the effect of making the Earth more compact and spinning faster," stated the geophysicist. Could this be the reason for the recent weather changes in some parts of the world?

Our world is a strange place. We think we understand it's makeup but we keep finding out that we don't know as much about this world as we think. It seems that one large event anywhere in the world will cause another somewhere else and that everything is related. The Earth is a fragile place and we have to remember that.