Mercury is a terrestrial planet in our solar system. Apart from the planet being closest to the sun, it is also the smallest planet in our solar system. Terrestrial planets differ from jovian planets as they are smaller Earth-like planets that consist of solid surfaces, few moons point, they have topological features such as peaks and valleys, and are most notably before the freezing point in the solar system.
In Mercury’s case, the planet is the closest to the sun, giving it a very thin atmosphere which causes it to shift between very hot days and very cold nights. The planet also has days that are 58 earth-days long. Mercury orbits around the sun in 88 days which is the fastest out of any other planet in our solar system. In appearance, Mercury …show more content…
One of the most noticeable differences between these jovian planets compared to the terrestrial planets is their size. To begin, the word “jovian” itself is brought from the name of the planet Jupiter. The word originates from Roman Mythology, and is used to describe other gas planets in the solar system that are similar to Jupiter, or in other words, are composed of gas (Williams, 2016). Even Neptune, the smallest jovian planet, has nearly four times the diameter of Earth, the largest terrestrial planet (Read, 2017, Lesson 11). The jovian planets are not only far larger in size, but also in mass, despite their lower density compared to terrestrial planets. (Ghose, Milosevic-Zdjelar, & Read, 2016, p. 278). Though their inner cores are made of “heavy elements such as metals, surrounded by a liquid” (Ghose, Milosevic-Zdjelar, & Read, 2016, p. 279), these planets mostly consist of gas with their large atmospheres (Read, 2017, Lesson 11). Suitably, the jovian planets are known as the gas giants due to their makeup of mainly hydrogen and helium (Read, 2017, Lesson 11). Notably, the jovian planets are much further from the Sun. Additionally, these planets are spread further apart from each other than the terrestrial planets (Read, 2017, Lesson 7). The planet furthest from the Sun, Neptune, takes nearly 165 Earth-years to orbit the sun once due to this …show more content…
As most are already aware, there are many fundamental differences that separate jovian planets from terrestrial planets. Saturn itself has a relatively small, dense core and is surrounded by layers of gas. This layer of gas which is popular among jovian planets, is composed of mainly hydrogen and helium. With so much gas, one could begin to wonder how it rotates or performs like other planets. However, surprisingly enough Saturn actually rotates much faster than any of the terrestrial planets, astronomers call this rapid rotation (Williams, 2016). Rapid rotation is very popular among terrestrial planets; therefore they tend to have shorter days. To put this into perspective, earth has a day that lasts 24 hours long, while a day on Uranus lasts about 18 hours long. (Williams,
In Mercury’s case, the planet is the closest to the sun, giving it a very thin atmosphere which causes it to shift between very hot days and very cold nights. The planet also has days that are 58 earth-days long. Mercury orbits around the sun in 88 days which is the fastest out of any other planet in our solar system. In appearance, Mercury …show more content…
One of the most noticeable differences between these jovian planets compared to the terrestrial planets is their size. To begin, the word “jovian” itself is brought from the name of the planet Jupiter. The word originates from Roman Mythology, and is used to describe other gas planets in the solar system that are similar to Jupiter, or in other words, are composed of gas (Williams, 2016). Even Neptune, the smallest jovian planet, has nearly four times the diameter of Earth, the largest terrestrial planet (Read, 2017, Lesson 11). The jovian planets are not only far larger in size, but also in mass, despite their lower density compared to terrestrial planets. (Ghose, Milosevic-Zdjelar, & Read, 2016, p. 278). Though their inner cores are made of “heavy elements such as metals, surrounded by a liquid” (Ghose, Milosevic-Zdjelar, & Read, 2016, p. 279), these planets mostly consist of gas with their large atmospheres (Read, 2017, Lesson 11). Suitably, the jovian planets are known as the gas giants due to their makeup of mainly hydrogen and helium (Read, 2017, Lesson 11). Notably, the jovian planets are much further from the Sun. Additionally, these planets are spread further apart from each other than the terrestrial planets (Read, 2017, Lesson 7). The planet furthest from the Sun, Neptune, takes nearly 165 Earth-years to orbit the sun once due to this …show more content…
As most are already aware, there are many fundamental differences that separate jovian planets from terrestrial planets. Saturn itself has a relatively small, dense core and is surrounded by layers of gas. This layer of gas which is popular among jovian planets, is composed of mainly hydrogen and helium. With so much gas, one could begin to wonder how it rotates or performs like other planets. However, surprisingly enough Saturn actually rotates much faster than any of the terrestrial planets, astronomers call this rapid rotation (Williams, 2016). Rapid rotation is very popular among terrestrial planets; therefore they tend to have shorter days. To put this into perspective, earth has a day that lasts 24 hours long, while a day on Uranus lasts about 18 hours long. (Williams,