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Mars is the only other planet to have had its surface explored by a mobile surface probe (rover). Titan is the only non-planetary object of planetary mass to have been explored by lander. Landers have explored several smaller bodies including 433 Eros (2001), 25143 Itokawa (2005), Tempel 1 (2005), 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (2014), 162173 ...
Others are researching much more tangible ideas relating to stars and chemistry. Research published in 2010 studied the effects of a strong stellar flare on the atmospheric chemistry of an Earth-like planet orbiting an M dwarf star, specifically, the M dwarf AD Leonis. This research simulated the effects an observed flare produced by AD Leonis ...
Planets whose orbits lie within the orbit of Earth. [nb 1] Mercury and Venus: Inner planet: A planet in the Solar System that have orbits smaller than the asteroid belt. [nb 2] Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars: Outer planet: A planet in the Solar System beyond the asteroid belt, and hence refers to the gas giants. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune ...
The structure of rocky planets is constrained by the average density of a planet and its moment of inertia. [15] The moment of inertia for a differentiated planet is less than 0.4, because the density of the planet is concentrated in the center. [16] Mercury has a moment of inertia of 0.346, which is evidence for a core. [17]
In planetary science, the term geology is used in its broadest sense, to mean the study of the surface and interior parts of planets and moons, from their core to their magnetosphere. The best-known research topics of planetary geology deal with the planetary bodies in the near vicinity of the Earth: the Moon , and the two neighboring planets ...
The sparseness of interstellar and interplanetary space results in some unusual chemistry, since symmetry-forbidden reactions cannot occur except on the longest of timescales. For this reason, molecules and molecular ions which are unstable on Earth can be highly abundant in space, for example the H 3 + ion.
The elemental composition of Mars is different from Earth's in several significant ways. First, Martian meteorite analysis suggests that the planet's mantle is about twice as rich in iron as the Earth's mantle. [6] [7] The planet's distinctive red color is due to iron oxides on its surface. Second, its core is richer in sulphur. [8]
Meteorites are often studied as part of cosmochemistry. Cosmochemistry (from Ancient Greek κόσμος (kósmos) 'universe' and χημεία (khēmeía) 'chemistry') or chemical cosmology is the study of the chemical composition of matter in the universe and the processes that led to those compositions. [1]