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MERCURY has a diameter of 4,879 km, about two-fifths of Earth's diameter. It also has a mass of 3.30e23kg. Mercury has a large iron core which generates a magnetic field about 0.1% as strong as that of the Earth. It also consists of approximately 70% metallic and 30% silicate material. The density of the planet is the second highest in the solar system at 5.43 g/cm³, only slightly less than Earth’s density. Mercury has a higher iron content than any other major planet in our solar system, and several theories have been proposed to explain this. The most widely accepted theory is that Mercury originally had a metal-silicate ratio similar to common chondrite meteors (thought to be typical of average solar system rocky matter) and a mass approximately 2.25 times its current mass. However, early in the solar system’s history, Mercury was struck by a planetesimal of approximately 1/6 that mass. The impact would have stripped away much of the original crust and mantle, leaving the core behind as a relatively major component. |
The diameter of VENUS is 12,100 km. Its interior composition, however, is unknown. Because the planet has a similar size, density, and mass of Earth, it presumably accreted from similar materials, scientists expect that it evolved at least a crudely similar internal state. Therefore, it probably has a core of metal, a mantle of dense rock, and a crust of less-dense rock. The core, like that of Earth, is probably composed primarily of iron and nickel, although Venus's somewhat lower density may indicate that its core also contains some other, less-dense material such as sulfur. Because no intrinsic magnetic field has been detected for Venus, there is no direct evidence for a metallic core, as there is for Earth. |
Our lovely EARTH has a diameter of 12,742 km. The interior of the Earth is similar to other terrestrial planets, that is chemically divided into layers. The Earth has an outer silicate (59.71%) solid crust, a highly viscous mantle, a liquid outer core that is much less viscous than the mantle, and a solid inner core. The internal heat of the planet is most likely produced by the radioactive decay of potassium-40, uranium-238 and thorium-232 isotopes. All three have half-life decay periods of more than a billion years. At the center of the planet, the temperature may be up to 7,000 K and the pressure could reach 360 GPa. A portion of the core's thermal energy is transported toward the crust by Mantle plumes; a form of convection consisting of upwellings of higher-temperature rock. These plumes can produce hotspots and flood basalts. |
MARS has a diameter of 6,800 km. Its interior consists of a crust, mantle, and core as if Earth's interior, but relative sizes of these components is unknown. Compared to Earth, Mars probably has a relatively thick crust. The core is probably mostly iron, with a small amount of nickel. Other light elements, particularly sulfur, could exist in the core as well. If so, the core may be quite large. |
The largest planet in our solar system, JUPITER, has a diameter of 142,800 km. This planet is one of the gas planets, so it is mainy composed of liquid (primarily hydrogen and about 10% helium). The inner layers of highly compressed hydrogen are in a state that has never been produced on the Earth. Normally, hydrogen does not conduct heat or electricity very well, which are defining characteristics for a metal. Thus, under normal conditions hydrogen is not a metal. Under the extreme pressure found deep inside Jupiter, theory suggests that the electrons are released from the hydrogen molecules and are free to move about the interior. This causes hydrogen to behave as a metal: it becomes conducting for both heat and electricity. |
SATURN is the second largest planet in our solar system at 120,000 km in diameter. Like Jupiter, Saturn is a gas planet made of simple molecules hydrogen and helium, they become liquid in the envioronment and is found deep inside Saturn. Saturn also has a layer deep below that is dominated by ice where "ice" denotes a soupy liquid mixture of water, methane, and ammonia under high temperatures and pressures. Finally at the center is a rocky or rocky-ice core. |
URANUS is 51,800 kilometers. This gas planet's atmosphere composition is different from the composition of Uranus as a whole. It is made mainly of molecular hydrogen and helium. There are some indications that it has not settled in the centre of the planet as it has in the gas giants. In addition, the methane traces amounts of various hydrocarbons were found in the upper atmosphere of Uranus, which are thought to be produced from methane by photolysis induced by the solar UV radiation.They include ethane acetylene, methylacetylene, diacetylene. Spectroscopy also uncovered traces of water vapour, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the upper atmosphere, which can only originate from an external source such as infalling dust and comets. The methane is believed to give Uranus its cyan color. |
The diameter of NEPTUNE is roughly 49,242 kilometers. Neptune is composed of gases similiar to Uranus, with various "ices" and rock about 15% hydrogen and a little helium. Like Uranus, but unlike Jupiter and Saturn, it may not have a distinct internal layering but rather to be more or less uniform in composition. But there is most likely a small core (about the mass of the Earth) of rocky material. Its atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium with a small amount of methane. Neptune is also blue and this color is largely the result of absorption of red light by methane in the atmosphere but there is some additional as-yet-unidentified chromophore which gives the clouds their rich blue tint. |
PLUTO is small 2,274 km in diameter; however, not much is known about its interior. It is believed to be much like the our moon. This concludes that it is probably made of ice, but not from water, rather from nitrogen. |
REFERENCES |
https://www.windows.ucar.edu www.virted.org https://csep10.phys.utk.edu www.enchantedlearning.com https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Venus&Display=OverviewLong https://www.virted.org https://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/mercury_worldbook.html https://en.wikipedia.org www.nineplanets.org |