- young
- When used to describe a planetary surface, "young" means
that the visible features are of relatively recent origin, i.e. that
older features have been destroyed by erosion or lava flows. Young
surfaces exhibit few impact craters and are typically varied and complex;
in contrast, an "old" surface is one that has changed
relatively little over geologic time. The surfaces of
Earth and Io are young;
the surfaces of Mercury and
Callisto are old.