24

Touring Our
Solar System*
24.1 Our Solar System: An Overview 817

24.2 Earth’s Moon: A Chip Off the Old Block 823

24.3 Terrestrial Planets 828

24.4 Jovian Planets 836

24.5 Small Solar System Bodies 843

View of the windblown Marian surface obtained by NASA rover

Curiosity. The black colored rocks are volcanic and have a com-
position similar to the rock basalt found on the Hawaiian Islands.
(Photo courtesy of NASA)

*This chapter was revised with the assistance of Professors Teresa Tarbuck
and Mark Watry.

815
 Focus on Concepts
Each statement represents the primary learning objective for the corresponding major heading within the
chapter. After you complete the chapter you should be able to:
24.1 Describe the formation of the solar system according to the nebular theory. Compare and
contrast the terrestrial and Jovian planets.
24.2 List and describe the major features of Earth’s Moon and explain how maria basins were
generated.
24.3 Outline the principal characteristics of Mercury, Venus, and Mars. Describe their similarities to
and differences from Earth.
24.4 Compare and contrast the four Jovian planets.
24.5 List and describe the principal characteristics of the small bodies that inhabit the solar system.

P
lanetary geology is the study of the formation and evolution of
NASA’s rover Curiosity
obtained this image of the the bodies in our solar system—including the eight planets and
Martian surface Shown is
Mount Sharp, a peak that is myriad smaller objects: moons, dwarf planets, asteroids,
composed of undeformed comets, and meteoroids. Studying these objects provides valuable insights into the dynamic pro-
sedimentary strata (see
roughly horizontal lines in cesses that operate on Earth. Understanding how other atmospheres evolve helps scientists build
background). (Photo courtesy better models for predicting climate change. Studying tectonic processes on other planets helps us
of NASA)
appreciate how these complex interactions alter Earth. In addition, seeing how erosional forces work
on other bodies allows us to observe the many ways landscapes are created.
Finally, the uniqueness of Earth, a body that harbors life,
is revealed through the exploration of other
planetary bodies.
 24.1 Our Solar System: An Overview 817

24.1 Our Solar System: An Overview

The Sun is at the center of a revolving system, trillions of miles wide, consisting of eight planets,
their satellites, and numerous smaller asteroids, comets, and meteoroids. An estimated 99.85 per-
cent of the mass of our solar system is contained within the Sun. Collectively, the planets account
for most of the remaining 0.15 percent. Starting from the Sun, the planets are Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune (Figure 24.1). Pluto was recently reclassified as a
member of a new class of solar system bodies called dwarf planets.

Tethered to the Sun by gravity, all the planets orbital speed of just 5 kilometers (3 miles) per second
travel in the same direction, on slightly elliptical orbits and requires 248 Earth-years to complete one revolution.
(Table 24.1). Gravity causes objects nearest the Sun to Most large bodies orbit the Sun approximately in the
travel fastest. Therefore, Mercury has the highest orbital same plane. The planets’ inclination with respect to the
velocity, 48 kilometers (30 miles) per second, and the Earth–Sun orbital plane, known as the ecliptic, is shown
shortest period of revolution around the Sun, 88 Earth- in Table 24.1.
days. By contrast, the distant dwarf planet Pluto has an

Kuiper belt SmartFigure 24.1

Orbits of the planets
A. Artistic view of the solar
system, in which planets
are not drawn to scale.
Neptune B. Positions of the plan-
ets shown to scale using
astronomical units (AU),
where 1 AU is equal to the
Uranus distance from Earth to the
Asteroid belt Sun—150 million kilome-
Sun Mercury ters (93 million miles).
Earth Venus

Mars
Jupiter

Saturn

A.

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars

SUN

Neptune Uranus Saturn Jupiter

30 25 20 15 10 5 0
B.
Distance in astronomical units (AU)
818 Chapter 24 Touring Our Solar System

Table 24.1   Planetary Data

Mean Distance from Sun Orbital Velocity
Planet Symbol AU* Millions of Miles Millions of Kilometers Period of Revolution Inclination of Orbit mi/s km/s
Mercury 0.39    36    58 88d 7800' 29.5 47.5

Venus 0.72    67 108 225d 3824' 21.8 35.0

Earth 1.00    93 150 365.25d 0800' 18.5 29.8

Mars 1.52 142 228 687d 1851' 14.9 24.1

Jupiter 5.20 483 778 12yr 1818' 8.1 13.1

Saturn 9.54 886 1427 30yr 2829' 6.0 9.6

Uranus 19.18 1783 2870 84yr 0846' 4.2 6.8

Neptune 30.06 2794 4497 165yr 1846' 3.3 5.3

Diameter
Period of Relative Mass Average Density Polar Flattening Number of Known
Planet Rotation Miles Kilometers (Earth 5 1) (g/cm3) (%) Eccentricity† Satellites‡
Mercury 59d 3015 4878    0.06 5.4 0.0 0.206 0
Venus 243d 7526 12,104    0.82 5.2 0.0 0.007 0
Earth 23h56m04s 7920 12,756    1.00 5.5 0.3 0.017 1
Mars 24h37m23s 4216 6794    0.11 3.9 0.5 0.093 2
Jupiter 9h56m 88,700 143,884 317.87 1.3 6.7 0.048 67
Saturn 10h30m 75,000 120,536 95.14 0.7 10.4 0.056 62
Uranus 17h14m 29,000 51,118 14.56 1.2 2.3 0.047 27
Neptune 16h07m 28,900 50,530 17.21 1.7 1.8 0.009 13

*AU 5 astronomical unit, Earth’s mean distance from the Sun.

†Eccentricity is a measure of the amount an orbit deviates from a circular shape. The larger the number, the less circular the orbit.
‡Includes all satellites discovered as of December 2012.

Nebular Theory: Formation of the and Mars, the planetesimals were composed of materi-
als with high melting temperatures—metals and rocky
Solar System substances. Then, through repeated collisions and accre-
The nebular theory, which explains the formation tion, these asteroid-sized rocky bodies combined to form
of the solar system, proposes that the Sun and planets the four protoplanets that eventually became Mercury,
formed from a rotating cloud of interstellar gases (mainly Venus, Earth, and Mars.
hydrogen and helium) and dust called the solar nebula. The planetesimals that formed beyond the orbit of
As the solar nebula contracted due to gravity, most of the Mars, where temperatures were low, contained high per-
material collected in the center to form the hot proto- centages of ices—water, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and
sun. The remaining materials formed a thick, flattened, methane—as well as small amounts of rocky and metallic
rotating disk, within which matter gradually cooled and debris. It was mainly from these planetesimals that the
condensed into grains and clumps of icy, rocky mate- four outer planets eventually formed. The accumulation
rial. Repeated collisions resulted in most of the mate- of ices accounts, in part, for the large sizes and low densi-
rial clumping together into larger and larger chunks ties of the outer planets. The two most massive planets,
that eventually became asteroid-sized objects called Jupiter and Saturn, had surface gravities sufficient to at-
planetesimals. tract and retain large quantities of hydrogen and helium,
The composition of planetesimals was largely de- the lightest elements.
termined by their proximity to the protosun. As you It took roughly 1 billion years after the protoplan-
might expect, temperatures were highest in the inner ets formed for the planets to gravitationally accumulate
solar system and decreased toward the outer edge of the most of the interplanetary debris. This was a period of
disk. Therefore, between the present orbits of Mercury intense bombardment as the planets cleared their orbits
 24.1 Our Solar System: An Overview 819

by collecting much of the TERRESTRIAL PLANETS Figure 24.2 Comparing

leftover material. The the internal structures of
“scars” of this period are the planets
still evident on the Moon’s
surface. Because of the
gravitational effect of the
planets, particularly Ju- Moon
Mercury Mars
piter, small bodies were
flung into planet-crossing Key Venus Earth
orbits or into interstellar Rocky crust
space. The small fraction of Rocky mantle
Metallic core
interplanetary matter that Inner metallic core
escaped this violent period
became either asteroids JOVIAN PLANETS
or comets. By compari-
son, the present-day solar
system is a much quieter
place, although many of
these processes continue
today at a reduced pace.
Uranus Neptune
The Planets: Saturn
Jupiter Key Key
Internal Structures Visible clouds Visible clouds
Gaseous hydrogen/helium Gaseous hydrogen/helium
and Atmospheres Liquid molecular hydrogen Ices (water/methane)
Liquid metallic hydrogen Rocky/iron core
The planets fall into two groups based on loca- Rocky/iron core
tion, size, and density: the terrestrial (Earth-
like) planets ­(Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars),
and the Jovian (Jupiter-like) planets (Jupiter, Saturn, occurred in the other planets as well. However, because
Uranus, and Neptune). Because of their relative locations, the terrestrial planets are compositionally different from
the four terrestrial planets are also known as inner planets, the Jovian planets, the nature of these layers is different
and the four Jovian planets are known as outer planets. as well (Figure 24.2).
A correlation exists between planetary locations and sizes: The terrestrial planets are dense, having relatively
The inner planets are substantially smaller than the outer large cores of iron and nickel. The outer cores of Earth and
planets, also known as gas giants. For example, the diameter Mercury are liquid, whereas the cores of Venus and Mars
of Neptune (the smallest Jovian planet) is nearly four times are thought to be only partially molten. This difference is
larger than the diameter of Earth. ­Furthermore, Neptune’s attributable to Venus and Mars having lower internal tem-
mass is 17 times greater than that of Earth or Venus. peratures than those of Earth and Mercury. Silicate miner-
Other properties that differ among the planets include als and other lighter compounds make up the mantles of
densities, chemical compositions, orbital periods, and num- the terrestrial planets. Finally, the silicate crusts of terres-
bers of satellites. Variations in the chemical ­composition of trial planets are relatively thin compared to their mantles.
planets are largely responsible for their density differences. The two largest Jovian planets, Jupiter and Saturn,
Specifically, the average density of the terrestrial planets is likely have small, solid cores consisting of iron com-
about five times the density of water, whereas the average pounds, like the cores of the terrestrial planets, and
density of the Jovian planets is only 1.5 times that of water. rocky material similar to Earth’s mantle. Progressing out-
In fact, Saturn has a density only 0.7 times that of water, ward, the layer above the core consists of liquid hydrogen
which means that it would float in a sufficiently large tank that is under extremely high temperatures and pressures.
of water. The outer planets are also characterized by long There is substantial evidence that under these conditions,
orbital periods and numerous satellites. hydrogen behaves like a metal in that its electrons move
freely about and are efficient conductors of both heat and
Internal Structures Shortly after Earth formed, seg- electricity. Jupiter’s intense magnetic field is thought to
regation of material resulted in the formation of three be the result of electric currents flowing within a spin-
major layers, defined by their chemical composition—the ning layer of liquid metallic hydrogen. Saturn’s magnetic
crust, mantle, and core. This type of chemical separation field is much weaker than Jupiter’s, due to its smaller
820 Chapter 24 Touring Our Solar System

shell of liquid metallic hydrogen. Above this metallic methane, ­ammonia, and other hydrocarbons. By con-
layer, both Jupiter and Saturn are thought to be com- trast, the terrestrial planets, including Earth, have rela-
posed of molecular liquid hydrogen that is intermixed tively meager atmospheres composed of carbon dioxide,
with helium. The outermost layers are gases of hydrogen nitrogen, and oxygen. Two factors explain these sig-
and helium, as well as ices of water, ammonia, and nificant differences—solar heating (temperature) and
methane—which mainly account for the low densities gravity (Figure 24.3). These variables determine what
of these giants. planetary gases, if any, were captured by planets during
Uranus and Neptune also have small iron-rich, rocky the ­formation of the solar system and which were ulti-
cores, but their mantles are likely hot, dense water and mately retained.
ammonia. Above their mantles, the amount of hydrogen During planetary formation, the inner regions of the
and helium increases, but these gases exist in much lower developing solar system were too hot for ices and gases to
concentrations than in Jupiter and Saturn. condense. By contrast, the Jovian planets formed where
All planets, except Venus and Mars, have significant temperatures were low and solar heating of planetesimals
magnetic fields generated by flow of metallic materials in was minimal. This allowed water vapor, ammonia, and
their liquid cores, or mantles. Venus has a weak field due methane to condense into ices. Hence, the gas giants
to the interaction between the solar wind and its upper- contain large amounts of these volatiles. As the planets
most atmosphere (ionosphere), while the weak Martian grew, the largest Jovian planets, Jupiter and Saturn, also
magnetic field is thought to be a remnant from when its attracted large quantities of the lightest gases, hydrogen
interior was hotter. Magnetic fields play an important and helium.
role protecting a planet’s surface from bombardment by How did Earth acquire water and other volatile
charged particles of the solar wind—a necessary condi- gases? It seems that early in the history of the solar sys-
tion for the survival of life-forms. tem, gravitational tugs by the developing protoplanets
sent planetesimals into very eccentric orbits. As a result,
The Atmospheres of the Planets The Jovian plan- Earth was bombarded with icy objects that originated
ets have very thick atmospheres composed mainly of beyond the orbit of Mars. This was a fortuitous event
hydrogen and helium, with lesser amounts of water, for organisms that currently inhabit our planet. Mer-
cury, our Moon, and numerous other small bodies lack
Airless worlds have relatively warm surface significant atmospheres even though they certainly
SmartFigure 24.3 temperatures and/or weak gravities. would have been bombarded by icy bodies early
Bodies with atmospheres
in their development.
versus airless bodies
Airless bodies Airless bodies develop where solar heat-
Two factors largely explain
why some solar system ing is strong and/or gravities are weak. Simply
bodies have thick atmo- Mercury stated, small warm bodies have a better chance
spheres, whereas others Venus of losing their atmospheres because gas mol-
are airless. Airless worlds Moon Earth ecules are more energetic and need less speed
have relatively warm sur- to escape their weak gravities. For example,
Solar heating (temperature)

Mars
face temperatures and/or Jupiter warm bodies with small surface gravity, such as
weak gravities. Bodies with Galilean
Asteroids moons our Moon, are unable to hold even heavy gases
significant atmospheres such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Mercury is
Europa
have low surface tempera- massive enough to hold trace amounts of hydro-
Saturn
tures and strong gravities. Titan
gen, helium, and oxygen gas.
Uranus The slightly larger terrestrial planets,
Charon Triton Earth, Venus, and Mars, retain some heavy
Pluto Neptune gases, including water vapor, nitrogen, and car-
bon dioxide. However, their atmospheres are
miniscule compared to their total mass. Early in
their development, the terrestrial planets prob-
ably had much thicker atmospheres. Over time,
Bodies with an atmosphere however, these primitive atmospheres gradually
changed as light gases trickled away into space.
For example, Earth’s atmosphere continues
Bodies with significant atmospheres have low to leak hydrogen and helium (the two lightest
surface temperatures and strong gravities.
gases) into space. This phenomenon occurs near
Gravity the top of Earth’s atmosphere, where air is so
tenuous that nothing stops the fastest-moving
 24.1 Our Solar System: An Overview 821

A. The energy of a rapidly moving body is transformed into C. Heating melts some material that may be ejected out of Figure 24.4 Formation of
heat and shock waves. the crater as glass beads. an impact crater

Central
Compressional Meteoroid peak
wave Melt

Fractured
rock
B. The rebound of over-compressed rock causes debris to be
explosively ejected from the crater. D. Small secondary craters often form when the material
“splashed” from the impact crater strikes the surrounding
landscape.
High-speed
ejecta Ejecta
Uplifted blanket
crater rim

Rebound

particles from flying off into space. The speed required Planetary impacts were considerably more common
to escape a planet’s gravity is called escape velocity. Be- in the early history of the solar system than they are
cause hydrogen is the lightest gas, it most easily reaches today. Following that early period of intense bombard-
the speed needed to overcome Earth’s gravity. ment, the rate of cratering diminished dramatically and
Billions of years in the future, the loss of hydro- now remains essentially constant. Because weather-
gen (one of the components of water) will eventually ing and erosion are almost nonexistent on the Moon
“dry out” Earth’s oceans, ending its hydrologic cycle. and Mercury, evidence of their cratered past is clearly
Life, however, may remain sustainable in Earth’s polar evident.
regions. On larger bodies, thick atmospheres may cause the
The massive Jovian planets have strong gravitational impacting objects to break up and/or decelerate. For
fields and thick atmospheres. Furthermore, because of example, Earth’s atmosphere causes meteoroids with
their great distance from the Sun, solar heating is mini- masses of less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) to lose up
mal. This explains why Saturn’s moon Titan, which is to 90 percent of their speed as they penetrate the atmo-
small compared to Earth but much further from the Sun, sphere. Therefore, impacts of low-mass bodies produce
retains an atmosphere. Because the molecular motion only small craters on Earth. Our atmosphere is much less
of a gas is temperature dependent, even hydrogen and effective in slowing large bodies; fortunately, they make
helium move too slowly to escape the gravitational pull of very rare appearances.
the Jovian planets. The formation of a large impact crater is illustrated
in Figure 24.4. The meteoroid’s high-speed impact
compresses the material it strikes, causing an almost
Planetary Impacts instantaneous rebound, which ejects material from the
Planetary impacts between solar system bodies have surface. On Earth, impacts can occur at speeds that
­occurred throughout the history of the solar system. On exceed 50 kilometers (30 miles) per second. Impacts at
bodies that have little or no atmosphere (like the Moon) such high speeds produce shock waves that compress
and, therefore, no air resistance, even the smallest pieces both the impactor and the material being impacted.
of interplanetary debris (meteorites) can reach the sur- Almost instantaneously, the over-compressed mate-
face. At high enough velocities, this debris can produce rial rebounds and explosively ejects material out of the
microscopic cavities on individual mineral grains. By newly formed crater. This process is analogous to the
contrast, large impact craters result from collisions with detonation of an explosive device that has been buried
massive bodies, such as asteroids and comets. underground.
822 Chapter 24 Touring Our Solar System

Figure 24.5 Lunar crater Euler

This 20-kilometer-wide (12-mile-wide)
crater is located in the southwestern
part of Mare Imbrium. Clearly visible are Crater ray
the bright rays, central peak, secondary
craters, and large accumulation of ejecta
near the crater rim. (Courtesy of NASA)
Secondary crater
chain
Central peak

Continuous ejecta

Discontinuous ejecta

Craters excavated by objects that are several kilo-

2 4 .1 C oncept C h ec k s
meters across often exhibit a central peak, such as the
one in the large crater in Figure 24.5. Much of the mate- 1. Briefly outline the steps in the formation of our solar
rial expelled, called ejecta, lands in or near the crater, system, according to the nebular theory.
2. By what criteria are planets considered either terrestrial
where it accumulates to form a rim. Large meteoroids
or Jovian?
may generate sufficient heat to melt and eject some of
3. What accounts for the large density differences
the impacted rock as glass beads. Specimens of glass between the terrestrial and Jovian planets?
beads produced in this manner, as well as melt brec- 4. Explain why the terrestrial planets have meager
cia consisting of broken fragments welded by the heat atmospheres, as compared to the Jovian planets.
of impact, have been collected on Earth, as well as the 5. Why are impact craters more common on the Moon
Moon, allowing planetary geologists to more fully un- than on Earth, even though the Moon is a much smaller
derstand such events. target and has a weaker gravitational field?
6. When did the solar system experience the period of
heaviest planetary impacts?
 24.2 Earth’s Moon: A Chip Off the Old Block 823

24.2 Earth’s Moon: A Chip Off the Old Block

The Earth–Moon system is unique because the Moon is the largest satellite relative to its planet.
Mars is the only other terrestrial planet that has moons, but its tiny satellites are likely captured
asteroids. Most of the 150 or so satellites of the Jovian planets are composed of low-density rock–ice
mixtures, none of which resemble the Moon. As we will see later, our unique planet–satellite ­system
is closely related to the mechanism that created it.

The diameter of the Moon is 3475 kilometers gradually coalesced to form the Moon. Computer simula-
(2160 miles), about one-fourth of Earth’s 12,756 kilo- tions show that most of the ejected material would have
meters (7926 miles). The Moon’s surface temperature come from the rocky mantle of the impactor, while its
averages about 1078 C (2258 F) during daylight hours and core was assimilated into the growing Earth. This impact
21538C(22438F) at night. Because its period of rotation model is consistent with the Moon having a propor-
on its axis equals its period of revolution around Earth, tionately smaller core than Earth’s and, hence, a lower
the same lunar hemisphere always faces Earth. All of the density.
landings of staffed Apollo missions were confined to the
side of the Moon that faces Earth. The Lunar Surface When Galileo first pointed his
The Moon’s density is 3.3 times that of water, com- telescope toward the Moon, he observed two differ-
parable to that of mantle rocks on Earth but considerably ent types of terrain: dark lowlands and brighter, highly
less than Earth’s average density (5.5 times that of water). ­cratered highlands (Figure 24.6). Because the dark re-
The Moon’s relatively small iron core is thought to ac- gions appeared to be smooth, resembling seas on Earth,
count for much of this difference. they were called maria (mar 5 sea, singular mare) The
The Moon’s low mass relative to Earth results in Apollo 11 mission showed conclusively that the maria are
a lunar gravitational attraction that is one-sixth that of exceedingly smooth plains composed of basaltic lavas.
Earth. A person who weighs 150 pounds on Earth weighs These vast plains are strongly concentrated on the side
only 25 pounds on the Moon, although the person’s mass of the Moon facing Earth and cover about 16 percent
remains the same. This difference allows an astronaut of the lunar surface. The lack of large volcanic cones on
to carry a heavy life-support system with relative ease.
If not burdened with such a load, an astronaut could Figure 24.6 Telescopic
jump six times higher on the Moon than on Earth. view of the lunar surface
The Moon’s small mass (and low gravity) is the The major features are the
primary reason it was not able to retain an dark maria and the light,
atmosphere. highly cratered highlands.
(UCO/Lick Observatory Image)

How Did the Moon Mare Imbrium

(Sea of Rains)
Form?
Until recently, the origin of the
Moon—our nearest planetary
neighbor—was a topic of consid-
Mare Tranquillitatus
erable debate among scientists.
Copernicus (Sea of Tranquility
Current models show that Earth
is too small to have formed with Kepler crater
crater
a moon, particularly one so large.
Furthermore, a captured moon
would likely have an eccentric
orbit similar to the captured moons Lunar
Highlands
that orbit the Jovian planets.
The current consensus is that the
Moon formed as the result of a collision
between a Mars-sized body and a youth-
ful, semimolten Earth about 4.5 billion years
ago. During this collision, some of the ejected
debris was thrown into orbit around Earth and
824 Chapter 24 Touring Our Solar System

Impact of an asteroid-size body produced a huge crater Some of the most obvious lunar features are impact
SmartFigure 24.7 hundreds of kilometers in diameter and disturbed the craters. A meteoroid 3 meters (10 feet) in diameter can
Formation and filling of lunar crust far beyond the crater.
blast out a crater 50 times larger, or about 150 meters
large impact basins
(500 feet) in diameter. The larger craters shown in
Figure 24.6, such as Kepler and Copernicus (32 and
93 kilometers in diameter, respectively), were created from
bombardment by bodies 1 kilometer or more in ­diameter.
These two craters are thought to be relatively young
­because of the bright rays (light-colored ejected material)
that radiate from them for hundreds of kilometers.

History of the Lunar Surface The evidence used to

unravel the history of the lunar surface comes primarily
from radiometric dating of rocks returned from Apollo
missions and studies of crater densities—counting the
number of craters per unit area. The greater the crater
density, the older the feature is inferred to be. Such evi-
dence suggests that, after the Moon coalesced, it passed
Filling of the impact crater with fluid basalts, perhaps through the following four phases: (1) formation of the
derived from partial melting deep within the lunar original crust, (2) excavation of the large impact basins,
mantle. (3) filling of maria basins, and (4) formation of rayed
craters.
During the late stages of its accretion, the Moon’s
outer shell was most likely completely melted—literally
a magma ocean. Then, about 4.4 billion years ago, the
magma ocean began to cool and underwent magmatic
differentiation (see Chapter 3). Most of the dense miner-
als, olivine and pyroxene, sank, while less-dense silicate
minerals floated to form the Moon’s crust. The highlands
are made of these igneous rocks, which rose buoyantly
Today these basins make up the lunar maria and a few like “scum” from the crystallizing magma. The most
similar large structures on Mercury. common highland rock type is anorthosite, which is
composed mainly of calcium-rich plagioclase feldspar.
Once formed, the lunar crust was continually im-
pacted as the Moon swept up debris from the solar neb-
ula. During this time, several large impact basins were
created. Then, about 3.8 billion years ago, the Moon, as
well as the rest of the solar system, experienced a sudden
drop in the rate of meteoritic bombardment.
The Moon’s next major event was the filling of the
large impact basins, which were created at least 300 mil-
lion years earlier (Figure 24.7). Radiometric dating of the
maria basalts puts their age between 3.0 billion and
3.5 billion years, considerably younger than the initial
these surfaces is evidence of high eruption rates of very lunar crust.
fluid basaltic lavas similar to the Columbia Plateau flood The maria basalts are thought to have originated
basalts on Earth. at depths between 200 and 400 kilometers (125 and
By contrast, the Moon’s light-colored areas re- 250 miles). They were likely generated by a slow rise
semble Earth’s continents, so the first observers in temperature attributed to the decay of radioactive
dubbed them terrae (Latin for “lands”). These areas elements. Partial melting probably occurred in several
are now generally referred to as the lunar highlands isolated pockets, as indicated by the diverse chemical
because they are elevated several kilometers above the makeup of the rocks retrieved during the Apollo mis-
maria. Rocks retrieved from the highlands are mainly sions. Recent evidence suggests that some mare-form-
breccias, pulverized by massive bombardment early ing eruptions may have occurred as recently as 1 billion
in the Moon’s history. The arrangement of terrae and years ago.
maria result in the legendary “face” of the “man in the Other lunar surface features related to this pe-
moon.” riod of volcanism include small shield volcanoes (8–12
 24.2 Earth’s Moon: A Chip Off the Old Block 825

Figure 24.8 Astronaut Harrison Schmitt, sampling the lunar surface

Notice the footprint (inset) in the lunar “soil,” called regolith, which lacks organic material and is therefore not a true soil. (Courtesy of NASA)

kilometers [5–7.5 miles] in diameter), evidence of pyro- smooth the landscape. This activity has crushed and
clastic eruptions, rilles (narrow winding valleys thought repeatedly mixed the upper portions of the lunar crust.
to be lava channels), and grabens (down-faulted Both the maria and terrae are mantled with a layer
valleys). of gray, unconsolidated debris derived from a few bil-
The last prominent features to form were rayed cra- lion years of meteoric bombardment (Figure 24.8). This
ters, as exemplified by the 90-kilometer-wide (56-mile- soillike layer, properly called lunar regolith (rhegos 5
wide) Copernicus crater shown in Figure 24.7. Material blanket, lithos 5 stone), is composed of igneous rocks,
ejected from these craters blankets the maria surfaces ­breccia, glass beads, and fine lunar dust. The lunar
and many older, rayless craters. The relatively young Co- regolith is anywhere from 2 to 20 meters (6.5 to 65 feet)
pernicus crater is thought to be about 1 billion years old. thick, depending on the age of the surface.
Had it formed on Earth, weathering and erosion would
have long since obliterated it.
24.2 C oncept C h ec k s
Today’s Lunar Surface The Moon’s small mass and 1. Briefly describe the origin of the Moon.
low gravity ­account for its lack of atmosphere and flow- 2. Compare and contrast Moon’s maria and highlands.
ing water. Therefore, the processes of weathering and 3. How are maria on the Moon similar to the Columbia
erosion that continually modify Earth’s surface are Plateau in the Pacific Northwest?
4. How is crater density used in the relative dating of
absent on the Moon. In addition, tectonic forces are
surface features on the Moon?
no longer active on the Moon, so quakes and volcanic 5. List the major stages in the development of the modern
eruptions have ceased. Because the Moon is unpro- lunar surface.
tected by an atmosphere, erosion is dominated by the 6. Compare and contrast the processes of weathering
impact of tiny particles from space (micrometeorites) and erosion on Earth with the same processes on the
that continually bombard its surface and gradually Moon.
GEOGRAPHICS

Is Earth on a Collision Course?

The solar system is cluttered with asteroids and comets that travel at great speeds and
can strike Earth with an explosive force many times greater than a nuclear weapon.

MAJOR IMPACT STRUCTURES

It has become increasingly clear that

comets and asteroids collide with
Earth far more frequently than
previously thought, as evidenced by
the many large impact structures that
have been identified.

A Near-Earth Asteroid Census

During a one-year period, NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, scanned the entire sky, continuously recording pictures. Based on the information obtained, NASA
researchers estimate that there are about 980 near-Earth asteroids larger than 1000 meters in diameter, of which 911 have already been located. These objects, roughly the size of
small mountains would have global consequences if any of them were to strike Earth.

known asteroids predicted total (each image represents 100 objects)

>1000 m
(Could destroy
civilization)

(Could destroy
a small country)
NASA
 Tunguska impact, 1908

appeared more brilliant than the Sun exploded violently.

The shock waves rattled windows and triggered
reverberations heard up to 1,000 kilometers away.
Called the Tunguska event, it scorched, delimbed, and
flattened 80 million trees over an area of 2,000 square
kilometers. This spectacular explosion has been
attributed to an asteroid or comet entering Earth's
atmosphere at speeds exceeding 50,000 kilometers per
hour. Surprisingly, expeditions to the area found no
evidence of a crater or any rocky or metallic fragments
that indicated a body impacted Earth. The explosion,
which released the energy equivalent to about 185
Hiroshima atomic bombs, is thought to have occurred
nearly 9 kilometers above the surface. Had it occurred
over a major population center, the destruction would
have been devastating.

Orbits of some near-Earth

objects (NEO) are shown MARS
in blue

VENUS

MERCURY
SUN
The dangers of living with these small, but deadly objects from space came to public attention again in 1989
raveling at 70,000 kilometers
(44,000 miles) per hour, it could have produced a crater 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide, and perhaps 2 kilometers

bodies larger than 1 kilometer should be expected every few hundred thousand years. Collisions with bodies EARTH
larger than 6 kilometers, resulting in mass extinctions, are anticipated every 100 million years.

Kara Crater,
Manicouagan Crater, Nenetsia, Russia
Tenoumer Crater,
Quebec, Canada Mauritania,Africa
(120 km in diameter, 70 mya)
(2 km in diameter, < 30,000 years ago)
Goat Paddock Crater,
(100 km in diameter, 215 mya)
Northwest Australia
(5 km in diameter, < 50 mya)

NASA
NASA NASA

NASA
Most impact structures on Earth are so old and highly eroded that they were not discovered until satellite images became available.
828 Chapter 24 Touring Our Solar System

24.3 Terrestrial Planets

Mercury: The Innermost Planet volcanic features, and a heavily cratered terrain
(Figure 24.9). The largest-known impact crater
Mercury, the innermost and smallest planet, revolves (1300 kilometers [800 miles] in diameter) on Mercury
around the Sun quickly (88 days) but rotates slowly on its is Caloris Basin. Images and other data gathered by
axis. Mercury’s day–night cycle, which lasts 176 Earth- Mariner 10 show evidence of volcanism in and around
days, is very long compared to Earth’s 24-hour cycle. One Caloris Basin and a few other smaller basins. Also like
“night” on Mercury is roughly equivalent to 3 months on our Moon, Mercury has smooth plains that cover nearly
Earth and is followed by the same duration of daylight. 40 percent of the area imaged by Mariner 10. Most of
Mercury has the greatest temperature extremes, from as these smooth areas are associated with large impact ba-
low as 21738C(22808F) at night to noontime tempera- sins, including Caloris Basin, where lava partially filled
tures exceeding 4278 C (8008 F), hot enough to melt tin the basins and the surrounding lowlands. Consequently,
and lead. These extreme temperatures make life as we these smooth plains appear to be similar in origin to
know it impossible on Mercury. lunar maria. Recently, Messenger found evidence of
Mercury absorbs most of the sunlight that strikes it, volcanism by revealing thick volcanic deposits similar
reflecting only 6 percent into space, a characteristic of to those on Earth in the Columbia Basin. In addition,
terrestrial bodies that have little or no atmosphere. The researchers were surprised by the recent detection of
minuscule amount of gas that is present on Mercury may probable ice caps on Mercury.
have originated from several sources, including ionized Unique to Mercury are hundreds of lobate scarps
gas from the Sun, ices that vaporized during a recent (Figure 24.10). Viewed from space, they appear as scal-
comet impact, and/or outgassing of the planet’s interior. loped-edged cliffs. These cliffs, which cut across nu-
Although Mercury is small and scientists expected merous craters, are thousands of kilometers in length,
the planet’s interior to have already cooled, Mariner 10 and some are elevated as much as 3 kilometers above
measured Mercury’s magnetic field in 2012. It found the ­surrounding landscape. They may have resulted
Mercury’s magnetic field to be about 100 times less than from crustal shortening as the interior of the planet
Earth’s, which suggests that Mercury has a large core cooled, shrinking the planet. As the planet contracted,
that remains hot and fluid—a requirement for generating compressional forces displaced large slabs of crustal
a magnetic field. rocks over one another along large thrust faults (Fig-
Mercury resembles Earth’s Moon in that it has very ure 24.10).
low reflectivity, no sustained atmosphere, numerous

Figure 24.9 Two views of Mercury

On the left is a monochromatic image,
while the image on the right is color en-
hanced. These are high-resolution mosa-
ics constructed from thousands of im-
ages obtained by the Messenger orbiter.
(Courtesy of NASA)
 24.3 Terrestrial Planets 829

Venus: The Veiled Figure 24.10 Lobate

scarps on Mercury
Planet These clifflike structures,
which are often more than
Venus, second only to the 1.6 kilometers (1 mile)
Moon in brilliance in the high, formed when Mer-
night sky, is named for the cury’s crust was contract-
Roman goddess of love and ing as the planet cooled.
beauty. It orbits the Sun Image from the Messenger
in a nearly perfect circle orbiter. (Courtesy of NASA)
once every 225 Earth-days.
However, Venus rotates in
the opposite direction of the
other planets (retrograde
motion) at an agonizingly
slow pace: 1 Venus day is
equivalent to about 244
Earth days. Venus has the
densest atmosphere of the terrestrial planets, consisting
mostly of carbon dioxide (97 percent)—the prototype for of extensive cratering from the heavy bombardment
an extreme greenhouse effect. As a consequence, the sur- period but found instead that a period of extensive
face temperature of Venus averages about 4508 C (9008 volcanism was responsible for resurfacing Venus. The
F) day and night. Temperature variations at the surface planet’s thick atmosphere also limits the number of
are generally minimal because of the intense mixing impacts by breaking up large incoming meteoroids and
within the planet’s dense atmosphere. Investigations of incinerating most of the small debris.
the extreme and uniform surface temperature led scien-
tists to more fully understand how the greenhouse effect
Figure 24.11 Global view
operates on Earth.
of the surface of Venus
The composition of the Venusian interior is This computer-generated
probably similar to Earth’s. However, Venus’s image of Venus was con-
weak magnetic field means its internal structed from years of
dynamics must be very different from investigations, ­culminating
Earth’s. Mantle convection is thought with the Magellan mission.
to operate on Venus, but the processes The twisting bright features
of plate tectonics, which recycle rigid that cross the globe are
lithosphere, do not appear to have highly fractured ridges and
contributed to the present Venusian canyons of the eastern
Aphrodite highland. (Cour-
topography.
tesy of NASA/JPL)
The surface of Venus is
completely hidden from view
by a thick cloud layer composed
mainly of tiny sulfuric acid drop-
lets. In the 1970s, despite extreme
s
temperatures and pressures, four
i g h land
Russian spacecraft landed success- e h
fully and obtained surface images. h r odit
Ap
As expected, however, all the probes
were crushed by the planet’s immense
atmospheric pressure, approximately
90 times that on Earth, within an hour of
landing. Using radar imaging, the unstaffed
spacecraft Magellan mapped Venus’s surface
in stunning detail (Figure 24.11).
A few thousand impact craters have been
identified on Venus—far fewer than on Mercury
and Mars but more than on Earth. Research- Elevation of surface
ers expected that Venus would show evidence
Low High