Pg. 35
Largest planet (5 th from Sun) 11 times larger than Earth (makes up 70 % of planetary matter) Has a banded appearance due to atmosphere Has 4 major satellites and at least 12 minor ones Composed of light weight elements Atmosphere- H and He in both gas and liquid form; has liquid metallic H; electric currents Earth-sized core of heavier elements that have sunk.
Spins fast (1 rotation= 10 hrs) Shape is distorted because of fast spin Has “Great Red Spot” which is a atmospheric storm that has been rotating around Jupiter for more than 300 years Alternating cloud types Belts- low, warm, dark-colored clouds that sink Zones- high, cool, light-colored clouds that rise
4 largest moons called satellites: Io Europa Ganymede Callisto Composed of ice and rock mixtures Jupiter’s ring is 6400 km wide
Second largest planet Atmosphere- rotates rapidly and has belts and zones; H and He and also ammonia ice Most likely fluid throughout with small solid core
Rings are composed of rock and ice (microscopic to size of houses) 7 major rings that are each made up of ringlets 18 known satellites Titan (giant) 7 intermediate moons 10 small moons
Discovered accidently Has blue, velvety appearance Atmosphere- methane gas (reflects blue light), H and He; few clouds Completely fluid except small core Axis is almost horizontal (Uranus was knocked sideways) Each pole spends 42 years in darkness and 42 years in sunlight
18 known moons and rings Recently 3 more possible moons have been discovered Rings are very dark, almost black Were discovered when a star was covered by them
Few details can be observed from Earth because of its distance away Atmosphere- bluish color because of methane; has distinctive clouds Had a persistent storm called the Great Dark Spot that disappeared in 1994
Has eight moons (largest is Triton) Triton orbits backwards Has 6 rings that are comprised of dust particles