The Inner Planets

The Inner Planets

by Mario Miro

​Terrestrial Planets

​Our Solar system has 4 terrestrial plants:

• ​Similar to earth solid & rocky surface

• ​They are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars

• ​Our information about these planets comes from space probes

• Rotation​ - the action of rotating around an axis or center

• Revolution -the planet’s motion around the sun

• AU(Astronomical unit) -  is a unit of length, roughly the distance from Earth to the Sun and equal to about (93 million miles) or 8 light minutes. ​

​​​Mercury:

• ​Closest planet to the Sun

• ​Mercury has very little atmosphere

• ​Surface is very similar to our moon (vast plains and many craters)

• ​Day / Night temperature difference is largest in our solar system

​Terrestrial Planets Cont.

​Venus

• ​Brightest planet in our sky

• ​Venus rotate very slow 1 day on Venus is equal to 243 days on earth

• ​Venus atmosphere is mainly composed of carbon dioxide (CO2) and high atmospheric pressure (92 atm compared to 1 atm on earth)

• Hottest plant due to dense Atmosphere​

• ​Smooth surface due to hardened lava with some crater formations

​Earth

• ​Unique properties compared to other planets

• ​Our distance from the sun allows for water to exist in all 3 forms at the surface.

• ​Earth's atmosphere of oxygen and nitrogen provide suitable conditions for life.

​Terrestrial Planets Cont.

​Mars

• ​Referred to as the "Red" plant due to its reddish color which comes from high concentrations of iron (Fe)

• ​Mars has been the target of many Space probes and studies to investigate if human life is suitable on Mars

• ​Mars has a thin atmosphere with many wind & dust storms​

• ​Mars has many surface features that evidence an existence of water (dried rivers, lake beds, and runoff channels)

Multiple Choice

Which planet is one of the brightest objects in the sky?

• Mercury

• Venus

• Earth

• Mars

Multiple Choice

Which of the following characteristics is common to ALL FOUR planets in the inner solar system?

• have one or two moons

• have a solid rocky surface

• have a thin, toxic, atmosphere

• have the same orbit length around the sun

Multiple Choice

The right combination of temperature, water, and oxygen

• affects Neptune’s orbit.
• supports life on Earth.
• causes gas giants to form.
• results in storms on Jupiter.

Multiple Choice

Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are known as what type of planets?

• Terrestrial Planets

• Javian Planets

• Solar Planets

• outer planets

Multiple Choice

Which is the largest terrestrial planet in our Solar System?

• Earth

• Mars

• Jupiter

• Mercury

Multiple Choice

Mars has a red surface because of what mineral?

• iron
• lead
• plastic
• gold