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Mercury is classified as a terrestrial planet, with roughly the same surface gravity as Mars. The surface of Mercury is heavily cratered, as a result of countless impact events that have accumulated over billions of years.
Mercury formed about 4.5 billion years ago when gravity pulled swirling gas and dust together to form this small planet nearest the Sun. Like its fellow terrestrial planets, Mercury has a central core, a rocky mantle, and a solid crust.
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Mercuryis the smallest terrestrial planet in the solar system, about a third the size of Earth. It has a thin atmosphere, which causes it to swing between burning and freezing temperatures. Mercury is also a dense planet, composed mostly of iron and nickel with an iron core. Its magnetic field is only about 1 percent that of Earth's, and the planet...
Venus, which is about the same size as Earth, has a thick, toxic carbon-monoxide-dominated atmosphere that traps heat, making it the hottest planet in the solar system. Venus has no known moons. Much of the planet's surface is marked with volcanoes and deep canyons. The biggest canyon on Venus stretches across the surface for 4,000 miles (nearly 6,...
Of the four terrestrial planets, Earthis the largest, and the only one with extensive regions of liquid water. Water is necessary for life as we know it, and life is abundant on Earth — from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains. Like the other terrestrial planets, Earth has a rocky surface with mountains and canyons, and a heavy-metal core. ...
Marshas the largest mountain in the solar system, rising 78,000 feet (nearly 24 km) above the surface. Much of the surface is very old and filled with craters, but there are geologically newer areas of the planet as well. At the Martian poles are polar ice caps that shrink in size during the Martian spring and summer. Mars is less dense than Earth ...
During its lifetime, NASA's Keplerspace observatory discovered more than 2,300 confirmed alien planets — and thousands more possibilities — as of January 2019. Kepler ran out of fuel in 2018, but many of its possible planet discoveries still need to be confirmed with follow-up observations from other telescopes. Using the data from the telescope, s...
Not all planets are terrestrial. In our solar system, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are gas giants, also known as Jovian planets. It's unclear what the dividing line is between a rocky planet and a terrestrial planet; some super-Earths may have a liquid surface, for example. In our solar system, gas giants are much bigger than terrestrial pla...
For an in-depth look into our solar system, check out NASA's interactive Solar System Exploration webpage. The Planets: The Definitive Visual Guide to Our Solar Systemby DK, is also an excellent illustrative guide to all things planets.
Courtney Dressing et al, "The mass of Kepler-93b and the composition of terrestrial planets," The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 800, February 2015. Simon Grimm et al, "The nature of the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets", Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 813, May 2019, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201732233. George Ricker et al, "Transiting Exoplanet Surv...
Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. Mercury is a terrestrial planet. It is small and rocky. Mercury has a thin exosphere. Mercury’s surface can be as hot as 800 degrees F during the daytime and as cold as -300 degrees F during the nighttime.
In our solar system, Earth, Mars, Mercury and Venus are terrestrial, or rocky, planets. For planets outside our solar system, those between half of Earth’s size to twice its radius are considered terrestrial and others may be even smaller.
Mercury is a rocky planet, also known as a terrestrial planet. Mercury has a solid, cratered surface, much like the Earth's moon.
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Oct 7, 2024 · Mercury, the innermost planet of the solar system and the eighth in size and mass. Its closeness to the Sun and its smallness make it the most elusive of the planets visible to the unaided eye.
