The Outer Planets

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The Outer Planets
The Gas Giants
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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)
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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.
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Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto
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TIDAL FORCES HEAT THE INTERIOR OF THE TWO
INNERMOST MOONS. IO HAS TREMENDOUS VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS. IO IS 2 LARGER THAN EARTHS
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 EARTHS
MOON. CASTILLO AND GANYMEDE ARE BOTH SLIGHTLY
LARGER THAN THE PLANET MERCURY. BOTH MAY HAVE
LIQUID OCEANS DEEP BENEATH THEIR ICY CRUSTS.
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JUPITER MAY HAVE A ROCKY IRON/NICKEL CORE 1.5
TIMES EARTHS DIAMETER. DUE TO THE EXTREME
GRAVITY, THE CORE TEMPERATURE MAY BE AS HIGH AS
20,000o C.
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SATURN DISTANCE FROM SUN 9.5 AU DIAMETER 9.4
EARTH MASS 95 X EARTH ORBIT 29.5
YEARS ROTATION 11 HOURS
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THOUGHT THAT SATURN HAS A CORE APPROX. 2.5 TIMES
EARTHS DIAMETER, 20 TIMES EARTHS MASS, AND 15
OF SATURNS TOTAL MASS. THE PLANET IS MADE MOSTLY
OF MOLECULAR HYGROGEN (88) AND HELIUM
(11). SATURNS 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.
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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.
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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.
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THE SURFACE OF TITAN IS COVERED WITH HYDROCARBON
LAKES, PRIMARILY METHANE AND ETHANE.
PICTURE OF TITAN SHOWING ITS ATMOSPHERE.
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SATURN WAS THE FURTHEREST PLANET FROM THE SUN
KNOWN TO THE ANCIENTS. URANUS WAS NOT DISCOVERED
UNTIL 1781 BY WILLIAM HERSCHEL USING A TELESCOPE.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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PLUTOS ORBIT
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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