Erosion on the Earths Moon, Venus and Mercury - Essay Example

Research has shown that Venus has no tectonic plates and this characteristic feature of Venus makes it quite different from Earth. In the absence of the tectonic plates, the internal heat accumulated in the mantle chooses a completely different course of action than what happens in the case of the Earth. It causes the internal temperature of Venus to rise to a certain level. Once that level is achieved, the accumulated heat tends to weaken Venus’s surface and it undergoes a thorough renewal over a long period of time and the cycle continues.

Erosion is solely a geological process and one reason why geological activities in the Mercury and the Earth’s moon have declined is their size that is too small to keep their interiors hot enough for geological activity to continue. “Smaller bodies, such as the Moon and Mercury, have cooled further and are not thought to be presently active, but their features tell geologists of an active past.” (www.lpi.usra.edu, 2010).Effect of the planet size and its distance from the Sun on the atmosphere:Earth is the fifth-largest planet of all in the Solar system.

Its large size and distance from the Sun have contributed a lot toward the development of a unique atmosphere. The large size permits a lot of heat in the core to dwell that is ultimately released in the form of lava resulting in earthquakes, which in turn affect the atmosphere of Earth directly or indirectly. Earth is the third-distant planet from the Sun and comes after Mercury and Venus. The ozone layer is a very important part of the Earth’s atmosphere and provides it with protection against the ultraviolet (UV) rays emitted by the Sun.

The Ozone layer is formed as a result of the Sun’s UV rays colliding with Oxygen molecules in the atmosphere which are broken down by the UV rays to form monoatomic Oxygen which combines with other Oxygen molecules to form the Ozone layer. Besides, the distance of a planet from the Sun influences the temperature on a planet. Earth’s distance from the Sun is long enough to allow life on the Earth. The Earth’s magnetic field also helps to maintain life on Earth. This magnetic field is said to be generated by the high deposits of iron in the core of the Earth.

The greater the distance from the Sun, the stronger the magnetic field. The idea is supported by an article about the Earth’s magnetic field from the (ScienceDaily, 2010) which says that the Earth’s magnetic field 3.5 billion years ago was quite a week as compared to what it is today. This weakness let the Sun’s strong wind particles take water away from the Earth’s surface.