Solar System Lesson 4 : The Outer Planets  The outer planets are large and made of gas.  Their orbits are beyond the asteroid belt.  They all have rings and many moons.  Here are the gas giants:  Jupiter  Saturn  Uranus  Neptune

Jupiter  Fifth planet from the sun  Largest planet  Made of mostly hydrogen and helium  Has rings  Red spot = a long lasting storm  Has many moons (at least 63)  Day = 10 hours  Year = 12 years

Saturn  Sixth planet from the sun  Mostly hydrogen and helium atmosphere  Very large but low mass  Rings made of ice, dust and rock  Has at least 47 moons  Day = 11 hours  Year = 29.4 years

Uranus  Seventh planet from the sun  Atmosphere of hydrogen, helium and methane  Bluish color  Very cold (average = -357 F)  Rotates on its side  Has rings  Has at least 27 moons  Day = 17 hours  Year = 84 years

Neptune  Eighth planet from the sun.  Smallest of the gas giants (could hold 60 Earths!)  Bluish color due to methane in the atmosphere  Very cold (average = F)  Has rings  Has at least 13 moons  Day = 16 hours  Year = 165 years

Dwarf Planets  Dwarf planets are small, round objects that orbit the sun.  So far, astronomers have identified three in our solar system: 1. Pluto (re-classified in 2006) 2. Ceres, a large asteroid outside the orbit of Mars 3. Eris, larger than Pluto and 3 times farther from the sun

Pluto  Discovered in 1930  Dwarf planet as of 2006  Solid icy surface  Same size as Earth’s moon  Has at least 3 moons  One moon, Charon, is almost the same size as Pluto  Odd, tilted orbit