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
Solid nitrogen Solid nitrogen Solid nitrogen is the solid form of the element nitrogen. It is an important component of the surfaces of Pluto and outer moons of the Solar System such as Neptune's Triton. Under low or moderate pressure solid nitrogen contains dinitrogen molecules held together by London dispersion forces. Non-molecular forms of solid nitrogen produced by extreme pressures have a higher energy density than any other non-nuclear material. Solid nitrogen was first made in 1884, by first liquefying hydrogen with evaporating liquid nitrogen, and then allowing the liquid hydrogen to freeze the nitrogen. Karol Olszewski achieved a world record lowest