Geology of solar terrestrial planets Earth, and Mars) have substantial atmospheres; all have impact craters and tectonic surface features such as rift valleys and volcanoes. The term "inner planet" should not be confused with "inferior planet", which refers to any planet that is closer to the Sun than the observer's planet is, but usually refers to Mercury and Venus. The Solar System is believed to have formed according to the nebular hypothesis, first proposed in 1755 by Immanuel Kant and independently formulated by Pierre-Simon Laplace. This theory holds that 4.6 billion years ago the Solar System formed from the gravitational collapse of a giant molecular
Ice planet Ice planet An ice planet is a theoretical type of exoplanet with an icy surface of volatiles such as water, ammonia, and methane. Ice planets consist of a global cryosphere. They are bigger versions of the small icy worlds of the Solar System, which includes the moons Europa, Enceladus, and Triton, the dwarf planets Pluto and Eris, and many other small Solar System bodies such as comets. Ice planets usually appear nearly white with geometric albedos of more than 0.9. An ice planet's surface can be composed of water, methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide (known as "dry ice"), carbon monoxide, and