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Three of the four inner planets (Venus, Earth, and Mars) have atmospheres substantial enough to generate weather; all have impact craters and tectonic surface features, such as rift valleys and volcanoes. [91] Mercury (0.31–0.59 AU from the Sun) [D 6] is the smallest planet in the Solar System.
A terrestrial planet, tellurian planet, telluric planet, or rocky planet, is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate, rocks or metals. Within the Solar System , the terrestrial planets accepted by the IAU are the inner planets closest to the Sun : Mercury , Venus , Earth and Mars .
The eight planets of the Solar System with size to scale (up to down, left to right): Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune (outer planets), Earth, Venus, Mars, and Mercury (inner planets) A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. [1]
An extrasolar planet in an orbit close to its star (normally less than one astronomical unit away), with a mass similar to that of Uranus or Neptune. Inferior planets: Planets whose orbits lie within the orbit of Earth. [nb 1] Inner planet: A planet in the Solar System that have orbits smaller than the asteroid belt. [nb 2] Outer planet
Eventually, the Sun will likely expand sufficiently to overwhelm the inner planets (Mercury, Venus, and possibly Earth) but not the outer planets, including Jupiter and Saturn. Afterward, the Sun would be reduced to the size of a white dwarf , and the outer planets and their moons would continue orbiting this diminutive solar remnant.
The planet is higher in the sky and less atmospheric effects affect the view of the planet. Mercury can be viewed as close as 4° to the Sun near superior conjunction when it is almost at its brightest. Mercury can, like several other planets and the brightest stars, be seen during a total solar eclipse. [150]
Interior planet now seems to be the preferred term for astronomers. Inferior/interior and superior are different from the terms inner planet and outer planet, which designate those planets that lie inside the asteroid belt and those that lie outside it, respectively. Inferior planet is also different from minor planet or dwarf planet.
The internal structure of the inner planets. The internal structure of the outer planets. A planetary core consists of the innermost layers of a planet. [1] Cores may be entirely liquid, or a mixture of solid and liquid layers as is the case in the Earth. [2]