Geology of solar terrestrial planets Their size, radius, and density are all similar. Terrestrial planets have numerous similarities to plutoids (objects like Pluto), which also have a solid surface, but are primarily composed of icy materials. During the formation of the Solar System, there were probably many more (planetesimals), but they have all merged with or been destroyed by the four remaining worlds in the solar nebula. The terrestrial planets all have roughly the same structure: a central metallic core, mostly iron, with a surrounding silicate mantle. The Moon is similar, but lacks a substantial iron core. Three of the four solar terrestrial planets (Venus,
Formation and evolution of the Solar System have been forged from the remnants in less violent collisions. Moons around some asteroids currently can only be explained as consolidations of material flung away from the parent object without enough energy to entirely escape its gravity. Moons have come to exist around most planets and many other Solar System bodies. These natural satellites originated by one of three possible mechanisms: Jupiter and Saturn have several large moons, such as Io, Europa, Ganymede and Titan, which may have originated from discs around each giant planet in much the same way that the planets formed from the disc around the Sun.