Let's assume that in thirty years, an extra-solar

planet is detected and its surface has been

imaged. Observations of the extra-solar planet
reveal the following:
A) The planet is 0.82 au from a star identical to the
sun.
B) The planet has an atmosphere.
C) The planet's surface gravity is about the same
as the surface gravity of Mars (0.38 Earth gravity).
D) Many craters are seen on the surface.
E) The density of the planet is similar to that of
Mercury (just slightly less than Earth).
F) The planet spins once every 4 Earth hours.
1) Which of the above pieces of information (not
counting B) are important if you want to determine
the thickness and composition of the atmosphere?
Explain your answer.
Surface gravity and Temperature tell us a lot about
the atmosphere of a planet. The stronger the
gravity, the thicker the atmosphere. The
temperature is found by speed.
C and F tell us about surface gravity and
temperature.
D tells us about the craters on the planet. The
atmosphere of a planet can burn up meteors if it is
thick enough and/or if the meteors are small
enough. D states that there are many craters so

that suggests that either they are all from very

large meteors or that the atmosphere was not thick
enough to burn them up before they reached the
surface.
2) Based on the information provided above, does
the planet have a thick or thin atmosphere? What
is the likely composition of the atmosphere?
Explain your reasoning for both.
It seems like the atmosphere has a thin
atmosphere because it has a weak gravity. Its
features A, B, C, and E suggest that it is a
terrestrial planet thus its atmosphere is likely to
have heavy molecules such as CO2, N2, O2, or Ar.
3) What requirements must a Terrestrial planet
meet in order to have a strong magnetic field?
The requirements for a Terrestrial planet to have a
strong magnetic field are as follows:
1.High density which causes the planet to have a
large amount of metal in its interior
2.Hot Interior to melt the metals to form the
magnetic field
3.Fast rotation which causes the molten metal to
move quickly around in the interior creating a
strong magnetic field.

4) Is the planet likely to have a strong or weak

(possibly zero) magnetic field? Explain your
reasoning.
The planet has a low density and a slow rotation.
This means that it is likely that the planet has a
weak (possibly zero) magnetic field.
5) For the following geological processes, state the
requirements the planet must meet in order for
these processes to be actively occurring.
impact:
The planet does not burn up large flying debris
from space thus causing impact craters.
erosion:
The planet must have an atmosphere.
volcanism:
The planet must have a molten interior.
plate tectonics:
The planet must have a molten interior and
plates.
Use the information above, answer the next four
questions.
6) Has the planet had many impacts in its history?
Explain briefly.

Yes, the planet has had many impacts in its history.

We know this because D states that many impact
craters can be seen from the surface.
7) Does the planet have erosion occurring today?
Explain briefly.
No, the planet does not have erosion occurring
today. If it did, then many of the impact craters
would have been worn away over time (like the
ones from Earth).
8) Does the planet have active volcanism? Explain
briefly.
No, if the planet had active volcanism then the lava
from the volcanoes would cool and solidify over
many craters thus creating new terrain.
9) Does the planet have active plate tectonics?
Explain briefly.
No, if the planet had active plate tectonics then
many of the impact craters would not be still on
the surface of the planet.
10) Choose a name for your planet.
The name I choose for my planet is Somnus. It is
the roman name of the Greek god Hypnos the god

of sleep. I felt this name was fitting because the

planet spins slowly and because of its lack of
change of its physical appearance, it feels like the
planet is in a sleeping/inactive state.