What are the main characteristics that distinguish each of the inner planets?
The Inner Planets All are solid, dense, and rocky. None of the inner planets has rings. Compared to the outer planets, the inner planets are small. They have shorter orbits around the Sun and they spin more slowly.
Why did the inner and outer planets develop differently?
So the metal and rock that existed close to the forming Sun accreted to form the inner planets. The ice and other materials found farther away accreted to form the outer planets.
What are 3 characteristics of the inner planets?
All of the inner planets are solid, dense, rocky planets. The inner planets either do not have moons or have just one (Earth) or two (Mars). None of the inner planets have rings. Compared to the outer planets, the inner planets have shorter orbits around the Sun, but all the inner planets spin more slowly.
What do the inner planets have in common with the outer planets?
Besides all of them being planets, all follow an elliptical orbit, all are spherical, and all are made of iron and nickel to some degree.
How did the planets form differently?
After the solar nebula collapsed to form our Sun, a disk of material formed around the new star. The temperature across this protoplanetary disk was not uniform. Since different materials condense at different temperatures, our solar system formed different types of planets.
What are some characteristics that the outer planets have in common?
The four outer planets are all gas giants made primarily of hydrogen and helium. They have thick gaseous outer layers and liquid interiors. The outer planets have numerous moons as well as planetary rings.
What are three basic differences between the inner and outer planets?
Inner planets have fewer moons, small, silicate surface, nickel-iron core, higher density and rotate more slowly compared to outer planets. Outer planets have a greater number of moons, no solid part; rotate faster, have a lower density as well as rings in some cases (Jupiter and Saturn).
How are the outer planets different?
Outer planets differ from inner planets in composition, size, distance, and mass. Outer planets are made of gases rather than rock and metal like inner planets. Unlike inner planets, outer planets are larger and spaced farther apart.
How are inner planets formed?
The inner planets of our solar system, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, originated from small dust and larger particles in the solar nebula that collided with each other over millions of years forming larger and larger particles (Figure 1a). These eventually became protoplanets.
What do you think are the characteristics of the planet Earth that make it different from all the other planets?
It differs from the other planets because it has liquid water on its surface, maintains life, and has active plate movement. It rotates on its axis every 24 hours (a day) and revolves around the Sun every 365 days (a year). The Earth has one moon.
How will you describe inner and outer planets in terms of the size?
The smaller, inner planets include Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The inner planets are rocky and have diameters of less than 13,000 kilometers. The outer planets include Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The outer planets are called gas giants and have a diameter of greater than 48,000 kilometers.