In your travels through space, if you were to encounter a planet that was small and had no atmosphere, what might have happened?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A small planet with low gravity may not have had enough gravitational force to hold onto its atmosphere, causing it to escape into space. This is a common occurrence with small planets such as Mars and Mercury, which have thin atmospheres due to their low gravitational pull. Option B is not the most likely scenario because a planet would need extreme temperatures for an atmosphere to boil away into space. Option C is incorrect because heat energy is not the only factor that determines if an atmosphere will form. Option D is incorrect because there are plenty of planets without life that have atmospheres.

In Your Travels Through Space, If You Were to Encounter