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Elements And Events That Affect A Planetary Body

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Geologic activity is basically the internal and external processes and events that affect a planetary body. Geologic activity forms different things on planets specifically Earth. Water, ice, wind, weathering, erosion all are factors in geologic activity. One recent study that has found geologic activity on the moon was the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The LRO showed the Moon’s crust being stretched, forming valleys in some small areas on the lunar surface. Scientists believe that the moon is in a general state of contraction because of cooling of a still hot interior. The weak contraction suggests that the Moon, unlike the terrestrial planets, did not completely melt in the early stages of its evolution.

The four smaller inner planets, Mercury, Venus (Links to an external site.), Earth (Links to an external site.) and Mars (Links to an external site.), are terrestrial planets (Links to an external site.), being primarily composed of rock and metal. The four outer planets are giant planets (Links to an external site.), being substantially more massive than the terrestrials. The two largest, Jupiter and Saturn (Links to an external site.), are gas giants (Links to an external site.), being composed mainly of hydrogen (Links to an external site.) and helium (Links to an external site.); the two outermost planets, Uranus (Links to an external site.) and Neptune (Links to an external site.), are ice giants (Links to an external site.), being composed mostly of substances

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