File:Terrestrial planet sizes2.jpg
Summary
| Description |
English: This diagram shows the approximate relative sizes of the terrestrial planets, from left to right: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Distances are not to scale.
A terrestrial planet is a planet that is primarily composed of silicate rocks. The term is derived from the Latin word for Earth, "Terra", so an alternate definition would be that these are planets which are, in some notable fashion, "Earth-like". Terrestrial planets are substantially different from gas giants, which might not have solid surfaces and are composed mostly of some combination of hydrogen, helium, and water existing in various physical states. Terrestrial planets all have roughly the same structure: a central metallic core, mostly iron, with a surrounding silicate mantle. Terrestrial planets have canyons, craters, mountains, volcanoes and secondary atmospheres. |
| Date | |
| Source |
Mercury Globe-MESSENGER mosaic centered at 0degN-0degE.jpg Venus 2 Approach Image.jpg The Blue Marble (remastered).jpg OSIRIS Mars true color.jpg |
| Author |
Mercury image: NASA/JHUAPL Venus image: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington Earth image: NASA/Apollo 17 crew, retouch by User:Aaron1a12 Mars image: ESA/MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/RSSD/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA |
| Other versions |
|
Licensing
For the Mercury image, Venus image, and Earth image:
| This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.) | ||
Warnings:
|
For the Mars image:
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO license.
- You are free:
- to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
- to remix – to adapt the work
- Under the following conditions:
- attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- share alike – If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same or compatible license as the original.


