Terrestrial and Jovian Planets

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Terrestrial and Jovian Planets

Our solar system contains nine planets, which are broken down into 2 classifications known as terrestrial planets and jovian planets. The terrestrial planets are composed primarily of rock and metal. They also generally have high densities, slow rotation, solid surfaces, no rings, and few satellites. These planets include Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. On the other hand, the jovian planets are composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. They generally have low densities, rapid rotation, deep atmospheres, rings, and numerous satellites. These planets include Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

The closest terrestrial planet to the sun is Mercury. Mercury is relatively small, and technically the eighth largest of all the planets. It is actually smaller in diameter than the moons Ganymede and Titan. Mercury has been visited by only one spacecraft, and that was the Mariner 10. The temperature variations on Mercury are the most extreme of any in the solar system. Temperatures range from 90K to 700K. Venus is slightly hotter, but much more stable. Mercury is in many ways similar to the moon. The biggest comparison is the surface being heavily cratered and very old. Mercury is also the second densest planet in the solar system, only behind earth. Mercury actually has a very thin atmosphere consisting of atoms blown off the planet by solar winds. Mercury is often visible with binoculars, and sometimes even the naked eye. The best place to find Mercury is always near the Sun.

The next terrestrial planet, and second planet from the sun, is Venus. Venus is the brightest object in the sky except for the Sun and the Moon. The first spacecraft to visit the planet was the Mariner 2 in 1962. It has also been visited by many other spacecrafts, including the Pioneer Venus, Venera 7, Venera 9, and most recently the US spacecraft Magellan. The rotation on Venus is somewhat unusual because it is very slow and also retrograde. One day on Venus is equivalent to 243 days on Earth. The atmosphere on Venus is composed almost entirely of Carbon Dioxide. It contains several layers of clouds made up of sulfuric acid. These clouds completely cover up our view of the planet. The dense atmosphere produces a greenhouse effect that raises the temperatures to nearly 400 degrees, which is 740K. Venus’ surface is actually hotter than Mercury’s, desp...

... middle of paper ...

...spacecraft, which was Voyager 2, on August 25, 1989. The majority of what we know about Neptune comes from this one encounter. Neptune’s composition is similar to Uranus, being made up of various rock and ices, and having 15% hydrogen with little helium. Neptune has the most rapid winds in the solar system, reaching up to 2000 km/hour. Neptune also has rings. Its rings are very dark, but the composition is unknown. Neptune can sometimes be seen with a binocular, but you have to know exactly where to look. A large telescope is needed to see anything more than a tiny disc.

There is a brief description of each of the terrestrial and jovian planets. It should now be easy to see the differences in composition and features of these different types of planets. And should now also be easy to determine the similarities between two terrestrial planets or two jovian planets.

Works Cited

Lunine, Jonathon I. “The Occurrence of Jovian Planets and the Habitability of Planetary Systems.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 98n3 (2001): 809-814.

Seeds, Michael A. Astronomy: The Solar System and Beyond. 2nd ed. Brooks/Cole

2001.

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