1. What are the Inner planets?
You will know the common characteristics of the inner planets and the position of Earth in the solar system.

2. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Have Rocky surfaces
4 closest planets to the sun
Can see them in the night sky, like stars

3. What do they have in common?
Closest to the sun
Small
Dense
Rocks
Solid Surface
Atmospheres
Except Mercury

4. See the difference between inner and outer planets

5. The Inner Planets

6. Mercury HOT HOT HOT and COLD COLD COLD

7. Mercury Closest Planet to the sun Smallest planet
1 orbit around the sun take 88 days
Smallest planet
Almost no atmosphere, which means lots of craters
Hot during the day
Cold at night

8. Mercury
Mercury is a small, rocky planet. It is the closest planet to the sun. During the day it can reach 467 degrees Celsius on the surface of Mercury, but at night it can drop to -170 degrees Celsius.
Mercury is 57,909,175km from the Sun. Its radius is km.

9. Venus 2nd planet from the sun “Earth’s evil twin”
Size and mass
Atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide
Hottest surface
Day is longer than a year
Rotates east to west

10. Venus

11. Earth
Solar
radiation
Radiation absorbed
by greenhouse gases
Escaping
radiation
Solar
radiation
Greenhouse Effect
Gases in the atmosphere trap some heat energy. Some is transmitted into space. More heat is trapped on Venus than on Earth.

12. Earth 3nd Planet from the sun
Largest of the inner planets (Take that, Mercury!)
Not too hot, Not too cold
70% liquid water = Life
Atmosphere is
Full of oxygen
Traps heat

13. Mars 4th planet from the sun Iron oxide in the soil 2 small moons
Atmosphere does NOT have enough oxygen for life
Has seasons, ice caps, and canyons

14. Mars, the “Red Planet”

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