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SPACE EXPLORATION
THE PLANETS: JUPITER AND SATURN
Recall that after Mars, the Asteroid Belt
separates the Inner Planets from the Outer
Planets.
All the Inner Planets are rocky while all the
Outer Planets are gas giants.
The biggest of all the planets in the Solar
System is Jupiter, named after the King of
the Gods.
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Jupiter, the 5th planet from the Sun, is BIG!
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You would need 1400 Earths to make up
Jupiter’s size.
It has more than twice the mass of ALL the
planets put together!
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Jupiter is a gas giant. Most of its mass is
made up of gases although the gravity is so
strong, these gases almost act like a solid.
In 1994, the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet
crashed into Jupiter, the FIRST time we
have ever witnessed an impact with another
planet.
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As the comet entered Jupiter’s gravity, it
broke into pieces and rained down on Jupiter
for 6 days.
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Jupiter is made mostly of hydrogen and
helium (like the Sun).
It rotates faster than all the planets.
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It has a giant storm (like a hurricane) called
the Great Red Spot, that has been going for
more than 300 years.
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It has another big storm as well, called Red
Spot Junior!
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Jupiter has a huge magnetosphere.
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Jupiter is sometimes described as a mini
solar system.
It has many moons (67), the inner ones are
rocky (like the inner planets) and the outer
ones are gaseous and larger (like the outer
planets).
The 4 largest moons are called the Galilean
moons, after Galileo.
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The inner moons are Io and Europa.
Io is of interest to us because of its
volcanoes. It is the most volcanic body in the
solar system.
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Europa has been the object of a lot of study
because it is believed that it is made mostly
of water and ice.
Some scientists think that with this much
water, there could be life under the frozen
surface.
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Two other Galilean moons are Ganymede (the
largest) and Callisto, but they are of less
interest to us.
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THE PLANETS: SATURN
Saturn is the 6th planet from the Sun and the
2nd of the Outer Planets.
It is easily recognized by its system of rings
circling the planet.
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Saturn’s rings are made up of dust, rocks,
and ice.
It is believed that when asteroids or comets
get too close to the planet, they break up
because of the gravity and the ring
formation is produced.
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One interesting fact about the rings is that
the entire structure is only about 10 m thick.
As the planet turns, our angle of the rings
changes and at times, almost disappears.
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Saturn has as many as 62 moons, the largest
of which is called Titan.
Titan has an atmosphere thicker than Earth’s
and may have a surface very similar too.
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Enceladus is an interesting moon because it
has ice volcanoes that shoot water into space
like lava!