inner planet
noun
: any of the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars whose orbits are within the asteroid belt
Examples of inner planet in a Sentence
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But there’s more to it than that: the spacecraft can actually use the planet’s gravity to speed up or slow down after this maneuver, allowing easier voyages to the outer or inner planets, respectively.
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Phil Plait, Scientific American, 19 June 2025
Understanding ‘Greatest Western Elongation’ This moment is the planet's greatest western elongation, which is when one of the inner planets — Mercury and Venus — reaches its maximum apparent separation west of the sun.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
The inner planets, including Earth, took at least 100 million years, maybe more.
—Lucas Brefka, The Conversation, 19 May 2025
Venus, an inner planet as seen from Earth, was between the Earth and the sun on March 23, having spent the previous few months approaching Earth.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
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Phil Plait, Scientific American, 19 June 2025
Understanding ‘Greatest Western Elongation’ This moment is the planet's greatest western elongation, which is when one of the inner planets — Mercury and Venus — reaches its maximum apparent separation west of the sun.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
The inner planets, including Earth, took at least 100 million years, maybe more.
—Lucas Brefka, The Conversation, 19 May 2025
Venus, an inner planet as seen from Earth, was between the Earth and the sun on March 23, having spent the previous few months approaching Earth.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inner planet
Cite this Entry
“Inner planet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inner%20planet. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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