Science Common Sense

1275 - What are the differences in terrestrial planet environments?

The terrestrial planets in our solar system are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The main differences in their environments are:

  1. Temperature:
  2. Mercury is extremely hot during the day and very cold at night.
  3. Venus is the hottest planet, with thick clouds that trap heat.
  4. Earth has a comfortable temperature, with air that helps keep it steady.

  5. Mars is cold, with temperatures changing greatly between day and night.

  6. Atmosphere:

  7. Mercury has a very thin atmosphere, no air to breathe.
  8. Venus has a thick atmosphere that traps heat and makes it hard to see the ground.
  9. Earth has air that's perfect for humans and animals to breathe.

  10. Mars has a thin atmosphere, with very little air to breathe.

  11. Water:

  12. Mercury and Venus have almost no water.
  13. Earth is covered in water, with oceans and lakes.

  14. Mars has ice at the poles and evidence that it had water a long time ago.

  15. Surface features:

  16. Mercury has many craters and is very rocky.
  17. Venus is covered in thick clouds, but has volcanoes and mountains under the clouds.
  18. Earth has mountains, valleys, and oceans.
  19. Mars has the largest volcano in our solar system and deep canyons.

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