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
Planet Earth (1986 TV series) funded production of the series. It enjoyed success in its original run, airing weekly on Thursday evenings on PBS from January 22 to March 5, 1986. A companion book to the series written by Jonathan Weiner, also entitled "Planet Earth", was published in 1986 by Bantam Books. Both the series and the companion book sometimes are marketed as "Our Planet Earth" in an attempt to avoid confusion with the 2006 BBC series "Planet Earth". Some footage shot for "Planet Earth" later also was used in the 1992 PBS series "Earth Revealed". In January 1986, "Los Angeles Times" critic Lee Margulies