Planets Up Close

What’s inside

• Which planet has the greatest surface pressure among the terrestrial planets?
• What is the primary reason Mercury experiences such extreme temperature differences between day and night?
• Which feature is most directly responsible for Jupiter's banded appearance?
• Which planet is known to have the largest canyon system in the Solar System, Valles Marineris?
• Why does Uranus appear to rotate on its side compared with most planets?
• Which observation provides the strongest evidence that Saturn's rings are made largely of water ice?
• Earth is the only planet in the Solar System known to have stable liquid water on its surface today.
• Mars has a thicker atmosphere than Earth, which is why liquid water can remain stable on its surface for long periods.