Gas Giants Jovian Planets

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Gas Giants (Jovian Planets)
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Jupiter largest planet in the solar system
Strong magnetic field
Mostly composed of hydrogen and helium
great red spot
fastest rotation
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Jupiters strong magnetic field
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The great red spot
Colorful bands run horizontal across Jupiters
cloud tops
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Jupiter would have been a small star had it 10
to 20 times more mass
A few thousand km below the cloud tops the
hydrogen turn liquid
A solid hydrogen and rock core is at the center
Shadow of moon Io
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Saturn- the most elaborate rings
Its the lowest density of any planet and would
float in water
But less distinct colorful bands
Composition very similar to Jupiter
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Crescent Saturn can only be seen from space
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Saturns rings are extremely complex and kept in
line by shepherd moons
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This close up of Saturn rings show 2 shepherd
moons keeping the rings in line
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The Voyager 2 Spacecraft gave us our first real
look at Uranus and Neptune
Uranus is the first planet discovered. It was
found in a systematic search by the British
astronomer William Herschel in 1781.
Uranus has the second most tilt of its axis
(97.9 degrees) of any planet
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Because of its near 90 degree tilt, Uranus has
strange seasons
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Like Saturn, Uranus has a large number of moons
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Neptune was discovered due to gravitational
discrepancies in Uranus orbit in 1846 by Johann
Galle
Neptune, like the other gas giants, is primarily
hydrogen and helium
Great dark spot
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Neptune as seen from its large icy moon Triton
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Pluto no longer a planet
It is the only planet never visited by a
spacecraft
Astronomers now consider Pluto a dwarf planet
Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh
by the same technique used to find Neptune
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Pluto and its moon Charon are like a double
planet
It is the farthest planet to date
It has the most eccentric planetary orbit
It is the coldest planet only 37 degrees above
absolute 0
Its orbit is most inclined to the Earth-Sun
orbit plane
Some unusual features of Pluto include
It is neither a rocky planet or gas planet
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Because it is so cold it actually retains a thin
nitrogen atmosphere
Many astronomers think Pluto looks like Neptunes
icy moon, Triton