Terrestrial planet Terrestrial planet A terrestrial planet, telluric planet, or rocky planet is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals. Within the Solar System, the terrestrial planets are the inner planets closest to the Sun, i.e. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The terms "terrestrial planet" and "telluric planet" are derived from Latin words for Earth ("Terra" and "Tellus"), as these planets are, in terms of structure, "Earth-like". Terrestrial planets have a solid planetary surface, making them substantially different from the larger giant planets, which are composed mostly of some combination of hydrogen, helium, and water existing in various
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research Research offers the PhD programme "International Max-Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Solar System Science" together with the University of Göttingen. The Solar System School offers a three-year course of study emphasizing actual research. The curriculum covers the entire area of the solar system from small bodies to the planets and the Sun. The goal is a broad, interdisciplinary, and solid scientific education, extended with courses in numerical physics, space technology, project management, scientific writing, and presentation techniques. There are always about 50 graduate students studying at the Solar System School. Two thirds are from abroad from over 30 different countries.