The Outer Planets

The Gas Giants

JUPITER

DISTANCE FROM SUN = 5.2 AU

MASS = 318 X EARTH

DIAMETER = 11 X EARTH

ATMOSPHERE = HYDROGEN AND HELIUM

SURFACE = LIQUID HYDROGEN

ORBIT = 12 YEARS

ROTATION = 10 HOURS

MOONS = 63 (4 GALILEAN MOONS)

ONE OBVIOUS FEATURE IS THE GREAT RED SPOT, WHICH IS LARGE ENOUGH TO PUT TWO EARTHS IN SIDE-BY-SIDE.

IT IS A LARGE STORM, AND IT HAS LASTED FOR OVER 300 YEARS.

Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto

TIDAL FORCES HEAT THE INTERIOR OF THE TWO INNERMOST MOONS.

IO HAS TREMENDOUS VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS.

IO IS 2% LARGER THAN EARTH’S MOON.

EUROPA HAS A SHELL OF WATER ICE, WHICH IS ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 12 AND 90 mi THICK.

EUROPA IS ABOUT 12% SMALLER THAN EARTH’S MOON.

CASTILLO AND GANYMEDE ARE BOTH SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE PLANET MERCURY.

BOTH MAY HAVE LIQUID OCEANS DEEP BENEATH THEIR ICY CRUSTS.

JUPITER MAY HAVE A ROCKY IRON/NICKEL CORE 1.5 TIMES EARTH’S DIAMETER.

DUE TO THE EXTREME GRAVITY, THE CORE TEMPERATURE MAY BE AS HIGH AS 20,000o C.

SATURN

DISTANCE FROM SUN = 9.5 AU

DIAMETER = 9.4 EARTH

MASS = 95 X EARTH

ORBIT = 29.5 YEARS

ROTATION = 11 HOURS

THOUGHT THAT SATURN HAS A CORE APPROX. 2.5 TIMES EARTH’S DIAMETER, 20 TIMES EARTH’S MASS, AND 15% OF SATURN’S TOTAL MASS.

THE PLANET IS MADE MOSTLY OF MOLECULAR HYGROGEN (88%) AND HELIUM (11%).

SATURN’S RINGS ARE VERY THIN. THEY ARE 250,000 km ACROSS, BUT THEY ARE ONLY 1 km THICK.

THERE IS NOT MUCH MATERIAL THERE. IF IT WERE ALL COMPRESSED INTO A SINGLE OBJECT, IT WOULD ONLY BE 100 km THICK.

LIKE JUPITER, SATURN RADIATES MORE ENERGY THAN IT RECEIVES FROM THE SUN.

ALSO, LIKE JUPITER, SATURN HAS A STRONG MAGNETIC FIELD.

SCIENTISTS THINK THIS IS CAUSED BY THE METALLIC HYDROGEN IN THE INTERIOR.

TITAN IS THE LARGEST MOON OF SATURN.

IT HAS AN ATMOSPHERE COMPOSED MOSTLY OF NITROGEN AND METHANE.

THE ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE IS 1.6 TIMES THAT OF EARTH.

THE SURFACE OF TITAN IS COVERED WITH HYDROCARBON LAKES, PRIMARILY METHANE AND ETHANE.

PICTURE OF TITAN SHOWING ITS ATMOSPHERE.

SATURN WAS THE FURTHEREST PLANET FROM THE SUN KNOWN TO THE ANCIENTS.

URANUS WAS NOT DISCOVERED UNTIL 1781 BY WILLIAM HERSCHEL USING A TELESCOPE.

URANUS

DIAMETER = 4 X EARTH

MASS = 11 X EARTH

DISTANCE FROM SUN = 19.2 AU

ROTATION = 17 HOURS

ORBIT = 84 YEARS

THE ROTATIONAL AXIS IS ONLY 8 DEGREES OUT OF THE PLANE OF THE ORBIT, SO WE SEE IT ON ITS SIDE.

COMPOSITION = MOSTLY HYDROGEN AND HELIUM.

MOONS = 5 LARGE AND 10 SMALL

THE BLUE COLOR IS DUE TO METHANE IN THE ATMOSPHERE.

URANUS HAS A MAGNETIC FIELD ABOUT 50 TIMES STRONGER THAN THAT OF EARTH.

IT DOES NOT HAVE AURORA LIKE JUPITER AND SATURN AS IT IS FURTHER FROM THE SUN.

URANUS HAS SOME NARROW RINGS – PROBABLY ROCKY COMPOSITION.

NEPTUNE

NEPTUNE IS SLIGHTLY SMALLER IN DIAMETER THAN URANUS, BUT HAS SLIGHTLY GREATER MASS.

DISTANCE FROM SUN = 30 AU

ROTATION = 16 HOURS

ORBIT = 165 YEARS

NEPTUNE IS THOUGHT TO HAVE A ROCKY CORE ABOUT 15 TIMES AS MASSIVE AS EARTH.

TILT ON AXIS = 50 degrees

NEPTUNE HAS A MAGNETIC FIELD SLIGHTLY LESS THAN THAT OF URANUS.

NEPTUNE HAS FAINT RINGS.

IT HAS 2 LARGE MOONS AND 6 SMALLER ONES.

THE LARGEST IS TRITON AND IS ABOUT THE SAME SIZE AS OUR OWN MOON.

TRITON HAS A THIN ATMOSPHERE OF MOSTLY NITROGEN AND POLAR ICE CAPS – ALSO NITROGEN.

PLUTO

PLUTO IS 2/3 THE SIZE OF OUR OWN MOON AND 1,200 TIMES FURTHER AWAY.

THIS MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO SEE, EVEN WITH A TELESCOPE.

DISTANCE FROM SUN = 40 AU

ROTATION = 6 ½ DAYS ORBIT = 248 YEARS

PLUTO’S ORBIT

PLANET DISTANCE FROM SUN

MERCURY 0.39

VENUS 0.72

EARTH 1

MARS 1.5

JUPITER 5.2

SATURN 9.5

URANUS 19.2

NEPTUNE 30

PLUTO 40