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The Solar System is centered around the Sun and extends far beyond Neptune. The inner region of the system hosts four planets with Earth-like characteristics: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Other than rocks, metals, moons, and liquid metal cores, they share another important feature: water and ice.
How are the inner planets similar to each other?
The four planets closest to the sun—Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars—are the inner planets, also called the terrestrial planets because they are similar to Earth. All of the inner planets are solid, dense, rocky planets. The inner planets either do not have moons or have just one (Earth) or two (Mars).
What are 2 characteristics of terrestrial planets?
A terrestrial planet is one that meets these three planetary criteria and has a heavy metal core, a rocky mantle, and a solid surface. Surface conditions can vary greatly from planet to planet, but if it has a solid surface and a rocky inside, it is a terrestrial planet.
What are the inner and outer planets of our Solar System?
The Inner and Outer Planets in Our Solar System. The outer planets are further away, larger and made up mostly of gas. The inner planets (in order of distance from the sun, closest to furthest) are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. After an asteroid belt comes the outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Are there any rings on the inner planets?
Geologically, the inner planets are all made of cooled igneous rock with iron cores, and all have been geologically active, at least early in their history. None of the inner planets has rings. Although Earth is the third planet out from the Sun this lesson will start here.
What makes the Earth different from the other planets?
Like the other terrestrial planets, Earth has a rocky surface with mountains and canyons, and a heavy metal core. Earth’s atmosphere contains water vapor, which helps to moderate daily temperatures. Like Mercury, the Earth has an internal magnetic field. And our Moon, the only one we have, is comprised of a mixture of various rocks and minerals.
How are scientists able to study the inner planets?
On Earth, scientists can collect and analyze the chemistry of samples, do radiometric dating to determine their ages, and look at satellite images to see large-scale features. Rovers have landed on Mars and sent back enormous amounts of information but much of the rest of what is known about the inner planets is from satellite images.