Outer Solar System Gas Giants Jupiter Saturn Uranus

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Outer Solar System • Gas Giants: , Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune • Much

Outer Solar System • Gas Giants: , Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune • Much bigger than terrestrial planets • Composed mainly of hydrogen and helium • Have small dense cores of metal and rock • Consist mainly of liquid hydrogen and helium • Surrounded by rings

Jupiter • • • First planet beyond the asteroid belt Large enough to hold

Jupiter • • • First planet beyond the asteroid belt Large enough to hold 1300 Earth’s Biggest planet in solar system One day is less than 10 Earth hours Has 67 moons (most famous is Europa)

Saturn • 2 nd largest planet in the solar system • It’s rings are

Saturn • 2 nd largest planet in the solar system • It’s rings are the largest and most visible from Earth • Has at least 62 moons • Saturn’s moon Titan is larger than Mercury (Has a thick atmosphere

Uranus • Has a large amount of Methane, which gives the planet a distinct

Uranus • Has a large amount of Methane, which gives the planet a distinct blue-green appearance • Has rings but the particles are dark like coal and not reflective • Has 27 moons • The axis of rotation is tilted more than 90 degrees

Neptune • Neptune takes 165 Earth years to rotate the sun (60, 190 Earth

Neptune • Neptune takes 165 Earth years to rotate the sun (60, 190 Earth days) • Has clear visible cloud patterns in the atmosphere • It’s bluish color comes from methane in the atmosphere • Has 13 moons

Pluto • Discovered in 1930, been reclassified as a dwarf planet • It is

Pluto • Discovered in 1930, been reclassified as a dwarf planet • It is much smaller and denser than the other outer planets • Made of ice and rock (Moon is named Charon) • Has a tilted axis of more than 90 degrees