Our Solar System The Inner Planets

Inner Planets Mercury Venus Mars Earth Each of these terrestrial (land) planets have a core and are extremely small in comparison to the giant gas planets

Mercury Mercury was named by the Romans. It is the closest planet to the Sun, and smallest planet in the solar system. Its diameter is 40% smaller than Earth and 40% larger than our Moon. It is smaller than Jupiter’s moon Ganymede and Saturn’s moon Titan.

Inside Mercury Mercury has a large core roughly the size of Earth's moon. The core is likely composed of 60 to 70% iron by mass. A solid rocky mantle surrounds the core with a thin crust of about 100 kilometers.

Venus Once know by ancient astronomers as the morning and evening star. Named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty, is veiled by thick swirling cloud cover.

Venus with Visible and Radar Illumination At the surface, the atmospheric pressure is 92 times that of the Earth's at sea-level. A Venusian day is 243 Earth days and is longer than its year of 225 days.

The Interior of Venus More than 100,000 small shield volcanoes dot the surface along with hundreds of large volcanoes. The crust is shown as a dark red, the mantle as a lighter orange-red, and the core yellow.

Mars It was given its name by the Romans in honor of their god of war. The atmosphere of Mars is composed primarily of carbon dioxide with small amounts of other gases.

The average recorded temperature on Mars is -63° C (-81° F) with a maximum temperature of 20° C (68° F) and a minimum of -140° C (-220° F). Core is thought to be made of iron, like Earth.

QUIZ TIME!!!

QUESTION #1 How much larger is Mercury than Earth’s Moon?

QUESTION #2 Compared to Earth days, how long is a day on Venus?

QUESTION #3 How many small shield volcanoes dot the surface of Venus?

QUESTION #4 What is the Martian atmosphere mainly composed of?

QUESTION #5 What is the average recorded temperature on Mars?

Answers Its diameter is 40% smaller than Earth and 40% larger than our Moon. 2. A Venusian day is 243 Earth days. 3. More than 100,000 small shield volcanoes dot the surface. 4. The atmosphere of Mars is composed primarily of carbon dioxide. 5. The average recorded temperature on Mars is -63° C (-81° F).

That’s All Folks!