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Outer Solar System
Outer Solar System
Information
The atmosphere of a gas giant is deep, with many
clouds
Gas giant rings are made from chunks of ice
All orbits of planets, asteroids, and comets are
ellipses.
Gas makes up most of their atmosphere
Atmosphere is denser and hotter as you go deeper
Jupiter
Largest planet in solar system
Clouds look white because they’re made of ice
crystals…frozen ammonia not frozen water
Lower clouds are brown or red and made of
different chemicals
Great Red Spot- large storm which is twice as
wide as Earth and over 100 yrs old (no land to
slow down storms)
Saturn
Saturn’s rings are zones of ice that orbit the planet
Many storms; striped clouds deeper in atmosphere
Most well known for rings (wide, flat zone of small
particles that orbit planet)
Rings have bright and dark stripes that change over time
Orbits Sun once every 30 years
Uranus
Twice Saturn’s distance from the Sun
Moves slowly along it’s orbit---84 years to travel
once around Sun
Rings and moons around
Uranus – a lot of methane
too   
Seems to spin on its side
(possible large collision?)
Neptune
Same outside temperature as Uranus
because it’s hotter inside the planet
Clouds of methane ice crystals
Dark colors=storm systems
(Just imagine a huge methane storm
that never ends )
What is in the rings that surround many of
the planets? Frozen ice, dust, small rocks,
and gas.
This planet’s axis is tilted so severely it
looks like it must have once been hit by
another planet sized object? Uranus
Overview of Info
Planet
Size in Earth’s
Diameter
Surface and/or
Atmosphere
Average Distance
from the Sun (AU)
Jupiter
11 times
Hydrogen clouds,
Great Red Spot
5.20 AU
Saturn
9 times
Hydrogen, rings of
ice
9.50 AU
Uranus
4 times
Hydrogen, helium,
methane, icy clouds
19.00 AU
Neptune
4 times
Hydrogen, helium,
30.00 AU
methane, fast winds,
Great Dark Spot
Can you name all
of the planets in
order? Mercury is
right here…
http://www.nineplanets.org/overview.html
The Outer Planets
Jupiter
Saturn
Distance from sun 43.3 light-minutes
Distance from sun 1.3 light-hours
Period of rotation 9 hours, 56 minutes
Period of rotation 10 hours, 39 minutes
Period of revolution 11 years, 313 days
Period of revolution 29 years, 155 days
Diameter 142,984 km
Diameter 120,536 km
Density 1.33 g/cm3
Density 0.69 g/cm3
Temperature –153°C
Temperature –185°C
Gravity 236% of Earth’s
Gravity 92% of Earth’s
Uranus Statistics
Neptune Statistics
Distance from sun 2.7 light-hours
Distance from sun 4.2 light-hours
Period of rotation 17 hours, 14 minutes
Period of rotation 16 hours, 7 minutes
Period of revolution 83 years, 274 days
Period of revolution 163 years, 265 days
Diameter 51,118 km
Diameter 49,528 km
Density 1.27 g/cm3
Density 1.64 g/cm3
Temperature –214°C
Temperature –225°C
Gravity 89% of Earth’s
Gravity 112% of Earth’s
The Planets
•Terrestrial Planets (Inner planets, small, dense, and rocky. No rings.
Few or no moons.)
•Mercury – smallest planet
•Venus
•Earth
•Mars
•Asteroid belt lies mainly between orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
•Jovian Gas Giant Planets (Outer planets, large, low density, and
gaseous (H, He, CH4). All have rings. All have many moons)
•Jupiter - largest planet
•Saturn
•Uranus
•Neptune
Review
What planet has the Great Red Spot?

Jupiter
Rings of gas giants are made from ______

Chunks of ice, dust, and gas
The atmosphere is more _______ and more ________
the farther you travel into a Gas Giant’s atmosphere.


Dense
Hot
What does AU mean?

Average distance from the Sun (93,000,000 miles)
Drawf Planets
Dwarf planets:
Pluto (small, icy, low density, one moon, its orbit crosses that
of Neptune)
Pluto was demoted from a planet to a dwarf planet in August
2006.
Ceres (the largest known asteroid orbiting between Mars and
Jupiter) is also considered a dwarf planet.
Xena (2003 UB313) - a body larger and farther away than
Pluto
There are a number of other potential candidates for dwarf
planets.
Terrestrial
Planets
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Jovian Planets
Dwarf planet
Pluto
Largest Planet?
Jupiter
Smallest Planet?
Mercury!