TOPIC GUIDE/OUTLINE FOR THE
TERRESTRIAL PLANETS

A. General Properties

• Near Sun (< 2 AU)

• Dense, rocky materials

• Well defined surfaces (unlike the giant planets)

• Atmospheres: None (Mercury, Moon); Thin (Earth, Mars); Thick (Venus)

• Few satellites: Earth (1), Mars (2)

B. Exploration: mainly by space missions since 1960

• Mapping by spacecraft: all. Venus by radar.

• Robot landers: all but Mercury

• Human landings: Moon

• For a history of solar system exploration, both of the terrestrial planets and other bodies, see:
  • Calvin Hamilton's Exploration Page at "Views of the Solar System"

  • This includes a chronology of space missions.

• It's worth noting that any space mission is a major undertaking and typically involves the skills of thousands of people. We have invested a great deal in our exploration of the solar system, but it has paid off in a much better understanding of our own environment.

C. Key Topics

• Earth interior & plate tectonics

• Earth's uniqueness & biosphere

• Moon: surface history as clue to planet formation/evolution

• [Mercury: test of General Relativity]

• Venus: catastrophic resurfacing? (shown in video "Venus Unveiled")

• Venus: Greenhouse Effect

• Mars: topography & surface history

• Mars: evidence for water

• Mars: Meteorite evidence for life(?)

• Mars: the canal illusion and "the abode of life"; popular impact via The War of the Worlds; UFO's

• Earth/Venus/Mars: evolution of atmospheres
  Main Lesson: "little differences mean a lot"

See individual Study Guides. Reading will cover Chapters 20-22 of the Seeds textbook
as well as "The War of the Worlds."

Previous Guide

Guide Index

Next Guide

---

Last modified March 2008 by rwo

Text copyright © 1998-2008 Robert W. O'Connell. All rights reserved. These notes are intended for the private, noncommercial use of students enrolled in Astronomy 121 at the University of Virginia.