History of Solar System formation and evolution hypotheses equals c. 2000 trillion trillion kg; Earth is at about 6 trillion trillion kg). T Tauri (see T Tauri type stars) eruptions of the Sun stripped the gases away from the inner planets. Mercury was incompletely condensed and a portion of its gases were stripped away and transported to the region between Mars and Jupiter, where it fused with in-falling oxidized condensate from the outer reaches of the Solar System and formed the parent material for ordinary chondrite meteorites, the Main-Belt asteroids, and veneer for the inner planets, especially Mars. The differences between the inner planets are primarily the consequence
Extraterrestrial atmosphere Extraterrestrial atmosphere The study of extraterrestrial atmospheres is an active field of research, both as an aspect of astronomy and to gain insight into Earth's atmosphere. In addition to Earth, many of the other astronomical objects in the Solar System have atmospheres. These include all the gas giants, as well as Mars, Venus, and Pluto. Several moons and other bodies also have atmospheres, as do comets and the Sun. There is evidence that extrasolar planets can have an atmosphere. Comparisons of these atmospheres to one another and to Earth's atmosphere broaden our basic understanding of atmospheric processes such as the