inner planets
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Inner Planets. Chapter 2.3 Pages 62-69. Inner Planets. Terrestrial planets Small, solid planets Mercury Venus Earth Mars. Mercury. 1 st Planet , 58,000,000km Rotation 59 Earth days Revolution 88 Earth Days Extremely thin atmosphere - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Inner PlanetsChapter 2.3Pages 62-69
• Terrestrial planets• Small, solid planets
– Mercury– Venus– Earth– Mars
Inner Planets
• 1st Planet, 58,000,000km• Rotation 59 Earth days• Revolution 88 Earth Days• Extremely thin atmosphere
– Fast moving, very hot, molecules escaped Mercury’s weak gravitational pull.
Mercury
• Solid surface, many flat planes and many craters
• Greatest temperature range of all planets (430°C to - 170°C)
• No moons
Mercury
• 2nd Planet 108,000,000km
• “Evening Star”• Similar in size and
density to Earth (“Earth’s twin”)
• A solid, rocky, cratered surface with volcanoes.
Venus
• Rotates so slowly (8 months) that its day is longer than its year (7.5 months)
• Rotates east to west (retrograde rotation)
• No moons
Venus
• Never has a sunny day.• Atmosphere so thick, the
pressure is 90 times that on Earth.
• Atmosphere is mostly CO2 and sulfuric acid– Clouds trap heat and
surface is 460°C. (Greenhouse Effect)
Venus’ Atmosphere
• 3rd Planet 150,000,000 km– Rotation 24 Earth
hours– Revolution 365.25
Earth Days• 70% covered in water
– Supports life.
Earth
• As an atmosphere – mostly 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen
• 3 main layers – crust, mantle and core
• Dynamic planet (constantly changing)
• One natural satellite called Moon.
Earth
• 4th Planet 228,000,000km• “Red planet” – solid, rocky
planet.– Rotation 1.03 Earth Days– Revolution- 687 Earth
Days• Two moons – Phobos and
Deimos
Mars
• Mars has seasons because it has a tilted axis– Winds stir up soil, causing
dust storms– Frozen ice caps of carbon
dioxide at south pole and frozen ice at north pole during the winter season.
• Very thin atmosphere, mostly carbon dioxide
Mars