Solar System Review

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• Mercury has cratered highlands, much like the moon, and vast smooth terrains that resemble maria.

• Mercury has the greatest temperature extremes of any planet.

 Surface Features

 Surface Temperatures

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Mercury’s Surface

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23.2 The Terrestrial Planets

• The surface temperature of Venus reaches 475oC, and its atmosphere is 97 percent carbon dioxide.

 Surface Temperatures

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23.2 The Terrestrial Planets

 Venus is similar to Earth in size, density, mass, and location in the solar system. Thus, it has been referred to as “Earth’s twin.”

• Venus is covered in thick clouds that visible light cannot penetrate.

 Surface Features

• About 80 percent of Venus’s surface consists of plains covered by volcanic flow.

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Venus

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23.2 The Terrestrial Planets

 The Martian Atmosphere

• The Martian atmosphere has only 1 percent of the density of Earth’s.

 Surface Features

• Most Martian surface features are old by Earth standards. The highly cratered southern hemisphere is probably 3.5 billion to 4.5 billion years old.

• Although the atmosphere of Mars is very thin, extensive dust storms occur and may cause the color changes observed from Earth.

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Mars

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23.2 The Terrestrial Planets

 Water on Mars

• Some areas of Mars exhibit drainage patterns similar to those created by streams on Earth.

• Images from the Mars Global Surveyor indicate that groundwater has recently migrated to the surface.

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Water on Mars

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23.3 The Outer Planets

 Jupiter has a mass that is 2 1/2 times greater than the mass of all the other planets and moons combined.

• Jupiter’s hydrogen-helium atmosphere also contains small amounts of methane, ammonia, water, and sulfur compounds.

 Structure of Jupiter

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Jupiter and the Great Red Spot

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