VISUAL ARCHIVE / IMAGE STORY
Three Worlds, Different Histories
Earth, Venus, and Mars show that surface conditions diverge.
Earth, Venus, and Mars illustrate very different planetary outcomes. Their histories cannot be reduced to a single cause. AI-generated interpretive comparison, with the worlds placed together for storytelling rather than to scale.
THE OBSERVATION
What we can actually see.
These Solar System planets differ in size, atmosphere, water history, and geological activity. They provide comparisons for planetary models, but no single isotope inventory alone explains all their climates.
THE ILLUSTRATION
What the artwork imagines.
The trio is an artistic comparison at deliberately distorted scale. Its surface colors should not be treated as synchronized, measured snapshots of equivalent epochs.
FROM THE ILLUSTRATED ARTICLE
The story that inspired it.
The planet article explores how radiogenic heat could affect long-term geology while leaving actual exoplanet interiors unresolved. Earth, Venus, and Mars show that surface conditions diverge.
Read The Planets That Go Quiet While Their Stars Still ShineCHECK THE RECORD
The image interprets the research below. Follow the original work for the measurements and limits behind the scene.
Rocky-planet radiogenic heating modelOTHER IMAGE STORIES
A World with Enough Light and Too Little Heat
A Planet’s Slow Interior Furnace
The Mark Shared by Titan and Pluto