Why can’t the gases escape from the outer planets?
These planets have so much mass that they can keep even the very very small, very very light particles of most gases from escaping their gravity. Planets with smaller masses, like that of Mercury, or even Earth, don't have enough gravity to hold onto the lighter gases, like Hydrogen and Helium.
Why planets closer to the Sun Cannot retain lighter gases?
In the areas closer to the Sun, it's too warm for the lighter gases to condense there, and so the larger gas and ice giants tended to form further from the Sun.
For what reason did the inner planets not collect gas?
The inner planets are much smaller than the outer planets and because of this have relatively low gravity and were not able to attract large amounts of gas to their atmospheres.
Why do the outer planets have more gas?
At larger masses, the planet's ocean boils and the atmosphere becomes a dense mixture of steam and hydrogen and helium. When a planet reaches a few times the mass of Earth, the atmosphere will grow rapidly, faster than the solid part of the planet, eventually forming a gas giant planet like Jupiter.
Why does air not escape into space?
Earth's gravity is strong enough to hold onto its atmosphere and keep it from drifting into space.
What determines whether an atmospheric gas can be retained by a planet rather than be lost to space?
What determines whether an atmospheric gas can be retained by a planet rather than be lost to space? –escape speed of the planet -the mass of the gas atoms or molecules -temperature of the planet's upper atmosphere. Measurements from orbiting spacecraft suggests that Mars had a magnetic field in its past.
Why are planets closer to the Sun more dense?
All of the planets in our Solar System began to form this way, but close to the Sun the temperature was too high for volatiles (gases like water and methane) to condense, so only the materials with a higher melting point (and higher density) were able to form at this point.
Why are the planets closest to the Sun more dense than those farther from the Sun?
Why are the planets closest to the Sun more dense than those further from the Sun? Dense objects sink towards the Sun while less dense objects are less strongly bound by the Sun's gravity. The heat at that proximity to the Sun makes it difficult for them to think.
Why are inner planets denser than outer planets?
The giant planets are less dense overall because they are made mainly of gases, and the inner rocky planets are more dense because they are made mainly of rock.
Why inner and outer planets are different?
The four inner planets have shorter orbits, slower spin, no rings, and they are made of rock and metal. The four outer planets have longer orbits and spins, a composition of gases and liquids, numerous moons, and rings. The outer planets are made of hydrogen and helium, so they are called gas giants.
Why are the outer planets of the solar system lighter?
Because they are much larger than Earth and the other inner planets, and because they are made primarily of gases and liquids rather than solid matter, the outer planets are also called gas giants. Figure 25.19: This image shows the four outer planets and the Sun, with sizes to scale.
Are the outer planets all gas?
The four gas giants in our solar system are Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter. These are also called the Jovian planets.
What does space smell like?
Astronaut Thomas Jones said it "carries a distinct odor of ozone, a faint acrid smell…a little like gunpowder, sulfurous." Tony Antonelli, another space-walker, said space "definitely has a smell that's different than anything else." A gentleman named Don Pettit was a bit more verbose on the topic: "Each time, when I …
How did Mars lose its atmosphere?
NASA pointed out that Mars had a thick atmosphere shortly after it was formed, and most of the composite in its atmosphere was carbon dioxide. However, due to the lack of magnetic field protection, the majority of the Martian atmosphere was destroyed by the strong solar wind, and escaped to space (Carlisle, 2015).
Why would it be easier for gases to escape the atmosphere of Mars?
Above 120 km altitude on Mars, gases separate diffusively according to mass so that heavier isotopes decrease in abundance with altitude more rapidly. Consequently, lighter isotopes are removed more easily from the exobase. Similar photochemical escape occurs on Titan.
What two properties determine which gases a planet can retain in its atmosphere?
There are two primary factors: size and distance from the Sun. Gravity helps planets and moons to hold on to their atmospheres, so small planets/moons such as Mars and the Moon have thin atmospheres.
Why were the four giant planets able to collect massive gaseous atmospheres whereas the terrestrial planets could not?
The four giant planets used a process called core accretion-gas capture to funnel large amounts of gas onto planetesimals that had grown fairly large by the accretion of frozen volatiles. This process would not be available to the inner planets because of a lack of volatiles in the inner Solar System.
Why are the inner planets made of denser materials than the outer planets?
Why are the inner planets made of denser materials than the outer planets? In the inner part of the nebula only metals and rocks were able to condense because of the high temperatures, whereas hydrogen compounds, although more abundant, were only able to condense in the cooler outer regions.
Why are the outer planets different from the inner planets?
The four inner planets have shorter orbits, slower spin, no rings, and they are made of rock and metal. The four outer planets have longer orbits and spins, a composition of gases and liquids, numerous moons, and rings. The outer planets are made of hydrogen and helium, so they are called gas giants.
Why do the outer giant planets have massive gaseous atmospheres of hydrogen and helium whereas the inner planets do not?
Why do the outer giant planets have massive gaseous atmospheres of hydrogen and helium whereas the inner planets do not? The outer planets grew massive quickly enough to gravitationally hold on to these gases before the solar wind dispersed the accretion disk.
How can the large outer planets hold onto lighter gasses like hydrogen and helium whereas the inner planets Cannot do this?
However, the inner planets didn't have enough mass to hold on to these very light gases. As a result, the hydrogen and helium initially on these inner planets floated away into space. Only the Sun and the massive outer planets had enough gravity to keep hydrogen and helium from drifting away.
Why are outer planets brighter than inner planets?
Outer planets are brightest at opposition (closest Earth-planet distance and full phase). Inner planets are more complex because at their closest distance they are at minimum phase.
Do you age in space?
In space, people usually experience environmental stressors like microgravity, cosmic radiation, and social isolation, which can all impact aging. Studies on long-term space travel often measure aging biomarkers such as telomere length and heartbeat rates, not epigenetic aging.
Can you fart in space?
On Earth, farts are typically no big deal — smelly, harmless, and they quickly dissipate. But if you're an astronaut, every fart is a ticking time bomb. The gases in farts are flammable, which can quickly become a problem in a tiny pressurized capsule in the middle of space where your fart gases have no where to go.
Is Earth losing atmosphere?
A pair of researchers from Toho University and NASA Nexus for Exoplanet System Science has found evidence, via simulation, that Earth will lose its oxygen-rich atmosphere in approximately 1 billion years.
Will Earth ever lose its magnetic field?
In fact, paleomagnetic studies show the field is about as strong as it's been in the past 100,000 years, and is twice as intense as its million-year average. While some scientists estimate the field's strength might completely decay in about 1,300 years, the current weakening could stop at any time.
Why hasn’t Venus lost its atmosphere?
The interesting thing, however, is that spacecraft observations, like the ones made by ESA's Venus Express, have shown that the Venusian ionosphere's direct interaction with the solar winds causes an externally induced magnetic field, which deflects the particles from the solar winds and protects the atmosphere from …
Do outer planets have thin atmospheres?
The outer four planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) were able to keep their original atmospheres. They have very thick atmospheres with proportionally small solid cores while the the inner four planets have thin atmospheres with proportionally large solid parts.
What causes the difference in densities between inner and outer planets?
This is because the outer planets are in a gaseous state while the inner planets are solid and more compact. Consequently, the density of the inner planets is greater than that of the outer planets.
How can the large outer planets hold onto lighter gases like hydrogen and helium whereas the inner planets Cannot do this?
However, the inner planets didn't have enough mass to hold on to these very light gases. As a result, the hydrogen and helium initially on these inner planets floated away into space. Only the Sun and the massive outer planets had enough gravity to keep hydrogen and helium from drifting away.