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Slightly smaller than Earth's Moon, Europa is made of silicate rock and has a water-ice crust [16] and probably an iron–nickel core. It has a very thin atmosphere, composed primarily of oxygen. Its geologically young white-beige surface is striated by light tan cracks and streaks, with very few impact craters. In addition to Earth-bound ...
All of the rocky inner planets, as well as the moon, have an iron-dominant core. Venus and Mars have an additional major element in the core. Venus’ core is believed to be iron-nickel, similarly to Earth. Mars, on the other hand, is believed to have an iron-sulfur core and is separated into an outer liquid layer around an inner solid core. [20]
Mercury in the Solar System has a metallic core equal to 60–70% of its planetary mass, and is sometimes called an iron planet, [36] though its surface is made of silicates and is iron-poor. Iron planets are thought to form in the high-temperature regions close to a star, like Mercury, and if the protoplanetary disk is rich in iron. Icy planet
The currently thin Martian atmosphere prohibits the existence of liquid water on the surface of Mars, but many studies suggest that the Martian atmosphere was much thicker in the past. [4] The higher density during spring and fall is reduced by 25% during the winter when carbon dioxide partly freezes at the pole caps. [ 6 ]
Water ice seems to be ubiquitous on its surface, with a mass fraction of 50–90 percent, [9] significantly more than in Ganymede as a whole. Near-infrared spectroscopy has revealed the presence of strong water ice absorption bands at wavelengths of 1.04, 1.25, 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 μm. [50]
The Moon's atmosphere is extremely thin, consisting of a partial vacuum with particle densities of under 10 7 per cm −3. [115] Mars (1.38–1.67 AU) [D 6] has a radius about half of that of Earth. [116] Most of the planet is red due to iron oxide in Martian soil, [117] and the polar regions are covered in white ice caps made of water and ...
Some estimates place these planets’ water content at around 50,000 times what ... the exact composition of that water is up for debate. Neptune, for example, has an atmosphere made of hydrogen ...
Mercury, being the closest to the Sun, with a weak magnetic field and the smallest mass of the recognized terrestrial planets, has a very tenuous and highly variable atmosphere (surface-bound exosphere) containing hydrogen, helium, oxygen, sodium, calcium, potassium and water vapor, with a combined pressure level of about 10 −14 bar (1 nPa). [2]