The Planets! They're all different!

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How come all the planets don't look the same, like Mars, maybe? The first thing I thought of is they're as different as the letters of the alphabet. Is there some message, with each planet representing a letter in a language of the universe?

Is there some scientific explanation for why they look so different?

Bumping for curiosity.

Originally posted by trollz
Bumping for curiosity.

Thanks for the bump, trollz. I just don't know why all the planets look different from one another. Why should they?

All a bit nut jobby for me.

reply to post by jiggerj


I know that many of the religious look to the planets and say, "Look, all those planets are proof that god exists."

Well, what if there's a message there, in the design and placement of the planets? What if the religious are right???

Originally posted by Idonthaveabeard
All a bit nut jobby for me.

Oh, I admit my mind has been screaming those same sentiments, but I can't get past the why of it? Why aren't there two planets that look alike? Three? Five? Why aren't they all made of the same stuff (all rock, all iron, all ice)?

Tell me that there's a sound reason for the differences, and then explain them.

reply to post by jiggerj
Well, looking at it from a strictly scientific viewpoint I would think a lot of the differences in appearance has to do with the composition of each planet's atmosphere in conjunction with the individual planet's distance to the sun which determines the amount of light and heat that it's atmosphere is affected by.

Originally posted by jiggerj

Originally posted by trollz
Bumping for curiosity.

Thanks for the bump, trollz. I just don't know why all the planets look different from one another. Why should they?

Because of the different elements that make up the atmosphere of the planets? Take Saturn and Jupiter for example Saturn is 96.3% molecular hydrogen and 3.25% helium while Jupiter's has molecular hydrogen and helium other chemical compounds are present only in small amounts and include methane, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and water.

reply to post by jiggerj


If there is a Divine Creator, wouldn't it stand to reason he loves making all sorts of beautiful and fascinating things for the sentient parts of creation to marvel and wonder upon?

I see the planets and for me, just little ol' me, it's definite proof of a Divine Creator....they say in some circles if you wish to know the mind of God, just look at the myriad of Creation.

Just my little two cents on this one from the religious viewpoint angle. I'm sure there are scientists who will do a much more comprehensive analysis of why the planets are as varied in chemical composition than I'm able to detail and outline.

Where did they get their atmospheres from?

Originally posted by jiggerj

Originally posted by trollz
Bumping for curiosity.

Thanks for the bump, trollz. I just don't know why all the planets look different from one another. Why should they?

Because they all have different chemical compositions.

Because they all had different resources available to them as they were forming.

Because they all formed in different locations with varying attributes.

It's absurd to think they should all look the same. Why does every drop of water or every snowflake look different?

Why should we expect planets to be any different?

Make up, distance from sun etc etc

Venus might look like Earth if it wasn't for the "greenhouse gases", very little difference, shame about the heat.

One of the moons around the gas giants is very earthlike too, just different stuff making it up.

If you don't look at it by a scietific view it would make sense that no two beings look exactly the same. Are planets aware of themselves? Are they each a being in this universe, making each unique?

Why does a tequila sunrise have that sunrise effect?

Density and gravity. And likely electromagnetic, too....but not in the tequila sunrise.

reply to post by jiggerj


To me they look remarkably similiar even the gas giants and small rocky worlds appear more similiar than different.

Originally posted by iforget
reply to post by jiggerj

 

To me they look remarkably similiar even the gas giants and small rocky worlds appear more similiar than different.

You beat me to it.

The gas giants all seem somewhat similar to each other. There are a few differences like Saturn's rings but those might only be temporary, and some of the other gas giants have rings too that are harder to see.

The rocky planets are certainly not identical to each other, but are certainly similar in that they're rocky. They were formed too close to the sun to have the same gaseous composition that the gas giants have, and are made of more rare (denser) materials which is probably why they're smaller.

Also the planets are not static. Perhaps at one time, Mars may have had a denser atmosphere, and it obviously had liquid flowing water like the Earth. But its size and other characteristics didn't allow it to maintain its atmosphere, but still, it looks so much like some places on Earth that some people on ATS don't even think the Mars probes went to Mars but just sent pictures from some desert on Earth. They are wrong, but still that's an indication of the similarity between the appearance of Mars and Earth.

Originally posted by jiggerj

Is there some scientific explanation for why they look so different?

edit on 7/2/2013 by jiggerj because: (no reason given)

jiggerj, could be related to planets distance from nearer STAR as well as location of planets near planet and moons. ALL causing different effects and changes upon the planets within each others energy zones or sustained suspended locations of current existence. So move or ADD a STAR* planet /moons and the PLANETS, MOONS AND STARS may change...

NAMASTE*******

Originally posted by jiggerj

Originally posted by Idonthaveabeard
All a bit nut jobby for me.

Oh, I admit my mind has been screaming those same sentiments, but I can't get past the why of it? Why aren't there two planets that look alike? Three? Five? Why aren't they all made of the same stuff (all rock, all iron, all ice)?

Tell me that there's a sound reason for the differences, and then explain them.

Our solar system is a very, very small piece of the intergalactic pie. Our planets do not all look alike, but it's fair to say that there are millions upon millions of other planets out there that do look similar to each one of our planets. As to why they are different, as people mentioned they have different elemental and molecular make ups, (among other things).

Originally posted by buster2010

Originally posted by jiggerj

Originally posted by trollz
Bumping for curiosity.

Thanks for the bump, trollz. I just don't know why all the planets look different from one another. Why should they?

Because of the different elements that make up the atmosphere of the planets? Take Saturn and Jupiter for example Saturn is 96.3% molecular hydrogen and 3.25% helium while Jupiter's has molecular hydrogen and helium other chemical compounds are present only in small amounts and include methane, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and water.

As far as I know the story of the creation of our solar system is that it was a huge dust cloud from some explosion. So, we have a dust cloud where most of the hydrogen had collected over there to create a planet, and most of the iron went over there to create a planet? Does that sound right to you?

reply to post by jiggerj

As far as I know the story of the creation of our solar system is that it was a huge dust cloud from some explosion. So, we have a dust cloud where most of the hydrogen had collected over there to create a planet, and most of the iron went over there to create a planet? Does that sound right to you?

I'm sure two bugs are wondering how a pile of sugar which could feed all their brothers and sisters for 10 lifetimes simply fell from the sky. But, it was a year old with a snow cone and a weak grip.

Something you have to take into account is the universe's perception of time. Which to it, we are bugs. You have to think in millions and billions of years... Not in your lifespan or the time that you know. You also have to wrap your head around the dimensions. If you asked an ant, "How big is the world?" imagine the answer you might get in return. "It goes long and far away. Once we reach the end of the Earth, it was a watery grave, which only grew bigger as deadly waterbombs fell above us..."

The following video should be of some help (it deals with the formation of planets):



And for elements: