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The rocky or terrestrial planets have less atmosphere (but more breathable atmosphere) than the gas giants have, for two reasons. First, they are smaller, and therefore have weaker gravitational fields, which makes it easier for gas to leak away into space, and secondly, they are closer to the sun and therefore hotter, and the additional heat causes gas to expand, thus also contributing to its escape into space.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoIt depends on the planet's size to some degree. Maybe the planet is too small to have captured an atmosphere with its gravity. It is a planet's gravity that holds the atmosphere down. Also, a planet may be close enough to its sun for solar winds to blow any potential atmosphere away. The conditions under which a planet forms may not be right for producing gases that become an atmosphere.
Wiki User
∙ 15y agobecause they have too small of a gravitational pull because they have too small of a gravitational pull
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoThey don't have enough mass to have the gravity that is would take to hold onto the molecules to create an atmosphere.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoMost likely the planet doesn't have a strong enough gravitational pull to keep the atmosphere from flying away
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoIn fact, apart from Mercury, all of the planets in our Solar System have atmospheres. However, none of the atmospheres of the other planets are capable of sustaining human life.
Wiki User
∙ 7y agoThe only planet that effectively lacks an atmosphere is Mercury. Mercury lacks and atmosphere due to its relatively weak gravity and close proximity to the sun.
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoAsteroids are too small to have enough gravity to prevent any atmosphere form escaping.
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What property controls the quantity of atmosphere in planets?
What property controls the quantity of atmosphere in planets?
The reason the jovian planets lost very little of their original atmosphere is due to their?
Large Gravity = large Mass
What do all the outer planets have in common?
They all have cores, made from gas and dust, have atmosphere's, orbit sun, elliptical orbits.
Do all inner planets have a thin atmospheric shell?
Each of the four inner planets has an atmosphere, except Mercury. Mercury is too small and close to the sun for its gravity to sustain a proper atmosphere, although a tenius and unstable exosphere it thought to exist.
Which of the rocky planets have well developed atmospheres?
The two largest, Earth and Venus, have a mass large enough to sustain an extensive atmosphere. The other two rocky planets, Mars and Mercury, are too small to hold such an atmosphere. There is some, but it is very thin.
Which of the planets has no atmosphere?
Mercury is the smallest of the eight planets, and is the only one not to have an atmosphere. This is due to its small size and close proximity to the sun.
What is mercurys atmosphere'?
it is made of small amounts hydrogen helium and oxygen. it has almost no atmosphere because of the planets gravity.
Is a comet and a meteor considered to be small planets?
No, comets and meteors are not considered to be small planets. Comets are simply considered to be comets, and meteors are simply considered to be meteors. (Meteors are asteroids that have entered the atmosphere.)
What is the atmosphere of an asteroid made of?
Asteroids are too small, and have too little gravity to have any atmosphere.
What property controls the quantity of atmosphere in planets?
What property controls the quantity of atmosphere in planets?
Why do meteoroids hit Mercury but not other planets?
Meteoroids are small enough that they will usually disintegrate when they enter a planet's atmosphere. Mercury has no atmosphere to speak of, and so it is not shielded in this way. Larger asteroids still do strike other planets.
Could you live on dwarf planets?
If you had an enclosed airtight habitat with atmosphere and life support it is technically possible. Dwarf planets are too small to have an atmopshere of their own.
The reason the jovian planets lost very little of their original atmosphere is due to their?
Large Gravity = large Mass
Why do all the inner planets have in common?
The inner planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars are are all relatively small, they are all rocky, they all have a relatively thin atmosphere.
What type of atmosphere do jovian planets have?
The atmosphere gets thicker and thicker as you go down; the planets basically consist mainly of atmosphere, though those planets are expected to have a solid core.
Which planets does not have atmosphere?
Mercury has no atmosphere. Mercury has no atmosphere. Mecury has no atmospherere.
What do all the outer planets have in common?
They all have cores, made from gas and dust, have atmosphere's, orbit sun, elliptical orbits.
