MadSci Network: Astronomy |
Put simply, yes and no, there is land in outerspace aside from planets. One example would be the asteroids, rogues as well as the ones in the asteroid belt. However, asteroids can range in size from small rocks, to a few miles in diameter, as in the asteroid Vesta, which is 320 miles or so in diameter. Although maybe not your typical view of "planet size", It would look pretty much like another planet were it to smash into your or my neighborhood, and there is no hint of atmospheres on these asteroids. Other planet or land like objects in space are comets, of which most are thought to be dirty snowballs containing ice and dust rolled together in a ball. Likewise, in interplanetary space is the precurser of land - dust, elements, etc. left over from exploded supernovae, or newly formed stars. In the case of newly formed stars, the dust, if there is enough of it, will one day coaelesce into planets as did our solar system. Or so goes all we can theorize and glean from observation. Donald E Duggan
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