Name the inner and outer planets of the solar system

Comparing the Characteristics of Outer and Inner Planets 1. What Are The Key Differences Between The Inner And Outer Planets? 2. In What Ways Are The Outer Planets Different From The Inner Planets? 3. How Do The Characteristics Of The Outer Planets Contrast With Those Of The Inner Planets? 4. What Separates The Outer Planets From The Inner Planets? 5. What Makes The Outer Planets Unique Compared To The Inner Planets? Introduction The planets in our solar system are divided into two groups: the inner planets and the outer planets. The inner planets are those that are closest to the sun, including Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. On the other hand, the outer planets include Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, which are located farther away from the sun. While all the planets in our solar system share some similarities, there are also significant differences between the inner and outer planets. In this article, we will explore these differences and learn more about the unique characteristics of the outer planets. Differences between the Inner and Outer Planets 1. Distance from the Sun The most obvious difference between the inner and outer planets is their distance from the sun. The inner planets are located closer to the sun and, as a result, experience much higher temperatures compared to the outer planets. The outer planets are much colder as they are located farther away from the sun. 2. Size and Composition Another significant difference between the inner and outer pla...

Lesson Objectives • Describe key features of each of the inner planets. • Compare each of the inner planets to Earth and to one another. Vocabulary • day • inner planets • terrestrial planets • year Introduction What evidence do planetary geologists have to go on to determine the geology of the inner planets? On Earth, scientists can collect and analyze the chemistry of samples, do radiometric dating to determine their ages, and look at satellite images to see large-scale features. Rovers have landed on Mars and sent back enormous amounts of information but much of the rest of what is known about the inner planets is from satellite images. The Inner Planets The inner planets, or terrestrial planets, are the four planets closest to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Figure below shows the relative sizes of these four inner planets. This composite shows the relative sizes of the four inner planets. From left to right, they are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Unlike the outer planets, which have many of satellites, Mercury and Venus do not have moons, Earth has one, and Mars has two. Of course, the inner planets have shorter orbits around the Sun, and they all spin more slowly. Geologically, the inner planets are all made of cooled igneous rock with iron cores, and all have been geologically active, at least early in their history. None of the inner planets has rings. Earth Although Earth is the third planet out from the Sun this lesson will start here. We know a lot ...

• Get Involved • Membership programs for explorers of all ages. • Get updates and weekly tools to learn, share, and advocate for space exploration. • Volunteer as a space advocate. • Give • • • • • • The Planetary Fund Accelerate progress in our three core enterprises — Explore Worlds, Find Life, and Defend Earth. You can support the entire fund, or designate a core enterprise of your choice. Our solar system is a wondrous place. Countless The smaller, inner planets are rocky, and at least one has life on it. The giant outer planets are shrouded in gas and ice; miniature solar systems in their own right that boast intricate rings and moons. Scattered throughout the solar system are small worlds like lumpy How did our solar system come to be? Why are these objects where they are now? Here is the series of events that made and shaped our solar system, to the best of our knowledge, pieced together from space missions, Earth-based observations, and complex simulations by scientists trying to figure out our place in space. The Sun Shines The Big Bang brought the Universe into existence 13.8 billion years ago. Our solar system formed much later, about 4.6 billion years ago. It began as a gigantic cloud of dust and gas created by leftover supernova debris—the death of other stars created our own. The cloud, which orbited the center of our galaxy, was mostly hydrogen with some helium and traces of heavier elements forged by prior stars. Over the next 100,000 years, the cloud And t...

The solar system model is being updated by spacecraft like New Horizons. ©NASA Solar System Formation The solar system is located in one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy. It was born about 4.5 billion years ago when a cloud of interstellar gas and dust collapsed. Most of the material was pulled toward a central point: nearly all of the solar system’s mass—99.8%—is in the Sun. The rest of the material formed a spinning disk around accretion. Two Kinds of Planets The biggest planets were formed from gases and icy materials in the cooler, outer part of the dusty disk. There are four of these giant planets or outer planets: In the warmer part of the disk closest to the Sun, smaller planets were formed from rocks and metals. The four terrestrial planets or inner planets are Another way of classifying planets—from the perspective of Earth—is to say that Mercury and Venus are inferior planets, because their orbit is closer to the Sun. The other planets can be termed superior planets. There Are Also Dwarf Planets Some bodies orbiting the Sun have become big enough for gravity to have given them a round shape, but they have not cleared away all the other objects lying close to their orbit. These bodies are known as dwarf planets. The most famous example is Pluto. Most Planets Have Moons There are more than 200 moons in the solar system. The technical term for a moon is a natural satellite. (A satellite is a small body that orbits a larger one; the International Space Stat...

In our Solar System, astronomers often divide the planets into two groups — the inner planets and the outer planets. The inner planets are closer to the Sun and are smaller and rockier. The outer planets are further away, larger and made up mostly of gas. The inner planets (in order of distance from the sun, closest to furthest) are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. After an asteroid belt comes the outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The interesting thing is, in some other planetary systems discovered, the gas giants are actually quite close to the sun. This makes predicting how our Solar System formed an interesting exercise for astronomers. Conventional wisdom is that the young Sun blew the gases into the outer fringes of the Solar System and that is why there are such large gas giants there. However, some extrasolar systems have “hot Jupiters” that orbit close to their Sun. Remove All Ads on Universe Today Join our Patreon for as little as $3! Get the ad-free experience for life The Inner Planets: The four inner planets are called terrestrial planets because their surfaces are solid (and, as the name implies, somewhat similar to Earth — although the term can be misleading because each of the four has vastly different environments). They’re made up mostly of heavy metals such as iron and nickel, and have either no moons or few moons. Below are brief descriptions of each of these planets Mercury: Mercury is the smallest planet in our Solar System and also th...