UNIVERSE
PLANETARY INTERIORS
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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True, because Earth and Mars are more massive.
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False, they all have thick atmospheres.
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False, only Earth and Venus have thick atmospheres.
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False, none of them have atmospheres.
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Detailed explanation-1: -So why are the atmospheres of Venus and Mars dominated by CO2, while Earth’s is not? It all comes down to water. Earth’s vulcanism driven atmosphere was likely dominated by carbon dioxide like Venus and Mars, but Earth also has vast oceans of liquid water.
Detailed explanation-2: -Venus, Earth, and Mars are sibling planets. They all have atmospheres, weathered surfaces, massive volcanoes, and chemically and thermally evolved interiors. Their atmospheres all possess clouds and circulate in response to the thermal forcing by the Sun, modulated by the effects of surface friction and planetary spin.
Detailed explanation-3: -There are two main reasons. First, Mercury is small and doesn’t have much gravity so it’s hard to hold onto an atmosphere.
Detailed explanation-4: -Venus, Earth, and Mars have atmospheres, while there are only traces of an atmosphere on Mercury and the Moon. The Venusian and Martian atmospheres are predominantly carbon dioxide while the Earth’s atmosphere is 78 % nitrogen and 21 % oxygen.
Detailed explanation-5: -Instead of an atmosphere, Mercury possesses a thin exosphere made up of atoms blasted off the surface by the solar wind and striking meteoroids. Mercury’s exosphere is composed mostly of oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium, and potassium.