As we know that our solar system is comprised of eight planets. Based on the composition or basic building materials of the planet, these eights planets are categorized into two parts:
- Terrestrial Planets
- Jovian or Gas Giant Planets
Terrestrial Planets:
- Terrestrial means earth-like planets and they are made up of rocks and metals and have relatively higher density. Terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
Jovian or Gas Giant Planets:
- Jovian means Jupiter-like planets and they are made up of much lighter materials than the terrestrial planet and have thick atmospheres mostly made up of hydrogen and helium. Jovian Planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
The following are reasons being terrestrial planets rocky
- Terrestrial planets are formed close to Sun where it was too warm for gases to condense to solid particles; only rocky particles remain.
- The solar wind was most intense near the sun, so it blew off lighter particles materials from terrestrial planets.
- Terrestrial planets are smaller in size and have lower gravity, so they could not hold lighter materials such as gases or dust.
That is why the terrestrial planets are rocky.
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