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The Inner Planets

The Inner Planets. The Inner Planets. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars Inner Planets are small, dense and have rocky surfaces. Called “terrestrial” planets. Earth. Earth is made up of three layers: Crust – the solid rocky surface Mantle – hot molten rock

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The Inner Planets

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  1. The Inner Planets

  2. The Inner Planets • Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars • Inner Planets are small, dense and have rocky surfaces. • Called “terrestrial” planets.

  3. Earth • Earth is made up of three layers: • Crust – the solid rocky surface • Mantle – hot molten rock • Core – dense inner layer made of iron and nickel • Only planet with liquid water • Earth’s gravity keeps gases in to create our atmosphere (mostly oxygen and nitrogen)

  4. Mercury • Smallest inner planet (not much larger than Earth’s moon) • Closest to the sun • Mercury’s surface has flat plains and craters • Mercury has no atmosphere because it has very little gravity. Gases escape out into space as they heat up. • Mercury has extreme temperature difference (-170 °C to 430 °C) .

  5. Venus • Known as the ‘evening star’ because we can see it just after sunset. • Its density and structure are similar to Earth’s (Earth’s twin) • Venus’s day is longer than its year (day=8 months, Year = 7.5 months) • Rotates from east to west (opposite from other planets). A possible collision caused the change in direction.

  6. Venus • Venus has a very thick atmosphere • Weight of it would crush you • Mostly carbon dioxide • Clouds are made of droplets of sulfuric acid • Greenhouse effect traps the heat from the sun in making Venus the hottest planet • The surface of Venus is mostly rock with volcanoes and plains formed by lava flows

  7. Mars • The “red” planet from the break down of iron-rich rocks. • Atmosphere is more than 95 % carbon dioxide (similar to Venus). It is so thin that liquid cannot exist (would turn to gas in the atmosphere immediately) • Scientists believe that large amounts of water once flowed on Mars. This left huge canyons and the appearance of ancient coastlines. • Remaining water is frozen in Mar’s polar icecaps.

  8. Mars • Mars has a tilted axis so it has a changing seasons • Mars has 2 small moons (Phobos and Deimos) • Mars has giant volcanoes that appear to have erupted in the past. • They are not active now • Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the solar system (3 times the size of Mount Everest)

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