Characteristics of Outer Planets By: Holly Fowle

Jupiter

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. It takes 11.9 Earth years just to complete one full orbit. It is the biggest planet in the solar system, with twice the mass as all of the other planets combined!

Jupiter’s atmosphere Jupiter has a very gaseous surface. It contains alternating light- and dark-colored bands. The dark bands are areas of sinking gas and light bands are areas of rising gas.

Jupiter’s Winds Jupiter’s winds blow parallel to its equator Winds at the equator move east at the average speed of 400 kilometers per hour. Winds traveling north and south move at 100 kilometers per hour.

Great Red Spot Jupiter’s “Great Red Spot” is the most striking feature on Jupiter’s surface. It rises 8 kilometers above its clouds. It is just one of Jupiter’s several different spot.

Jupiter’s Magnetic Field Jupiter has the strongest known magnetic field. The interaction between solar wind and the magnetic field cause Jupiter to have auroras. It also has intense lightning storms

Jupiter’s Radiation Jupiter radiates between 1.5 and 2.0 times as much heat back into space as it obtains from the sun. The extra heat is thought to come from Jupiter’s original heat of formation and from contraction due to its gravity.

Saturn

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun. It takes nearly 30 Earth years to complete one full orbit. It turns on its axis once every 10.7 Earth hours.

Saturn’s bands Saturn has colored bands like Jupiter, which are different areas of rising and sinking air. Saturn has fewer bands than Jupiter and its wind speed is faster: about 1800 km. per hour. Saturn’s density is low like Jupiter’s – less than 1 gram per cubic centimeter.

Saturn’s Radiation Saturn radiates between 1.5 and 2.5 times as much energy as it receives from the sun. Similar to Jupiter, it obtains sources of internal heat. It has a weak magnetic field.

Uranus

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun. It takes 84 Earthly years to complete one full orbit. It turns on its axis once every 17.2 hours! Its axis of rotation is very unusual; Uranus is tipped almost completely over!

Uranus’s Magnetic Field Uranus’s magnetic field is produced at its core, which rotates at the same rate as the planet itself. The spiral pattern traced by the magnetic field made it possible to figure out Uranus’s rate of rotation precisely.

Uranus’s Temperature Uranus’s temperature is very strange. The side of Uranus facing the sun is not hotter than the side not facing the sun; they are the same temperature.

Neptune

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun. It was discovered in 1846. It takes 16.1 Earth years to complete one full orbit

Neptune’s magnetic field is tipped 47 degrees. Its wind speeds up to 2200 kilometers per hour. Neptune gives off 2.7 times more energy than it obtains from the sun. Its temperature was once measured at –214oC.

Pluto

Pluto is the coldest, smallest, and most distant known planet in our solar system. It was discovered in 1930. Its surface temperature is below –220oC.

Pluto’s Atmosphere Most of its atmosphere of helium and methane is frozen to its surface. That’s why Pluto seems to be made of just water, ice, and rocks.

Pluto takes 248 Earth years to complete an orbit. At one point, Pluto’s orbit comes closer to the sun than Neptune’s.

Pluto Now Right now, though, Neptune is closer to the sun than Pluto. Pluto was closer to the sun between the years 1969 and 1999.

Bibliography Malin, Stuart. The Planets. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1989. 15-18. Spaulding, Nancy E., and Samuel N. Namowitz. Earth Science. Dallas: McDougal Littell, 1999. 386-418.

Interactive Websites http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/space/solarsystem/solarsystemjava.html http://www.brainpop.com/science/seeall/

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