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The Solar System:

The Solar System:. A5: Our Solar System The Outer Planets. The Outer Planets. The four outer planets are larger, more massive, and do not have solid surfaces. They are made up mostly of liquid gases.

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The Solar System:

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  1. The Solar System: A5: Our Solar System The Outer Planets

  2. The Outer Planets • The four outer planets are larger, more massive, and do nothavesolid surfaces • They are made up mostly of liquid gases • Jupiter – Largest planet with a mass 2 ½ times that of all the other planets combined • Atmosphere – very thick and made up mainly of hydrogen and helium • Great Red Spot – a storm that is larger than the entire Earth • Because there is no ‘land’ the storm has not weakened

  3. The Outer Planets • Structure– dense core of rock and iron at the center • Core is surrounded by a thick mantle of liquid hydrogen and helium • Moons – Galileo discovered 4 moons. Since then many smaller moons have been discovered. • Callisto’s surface is icy and covered with craters • Europa has an icy crust that covers an ocean of liquidwater • Io’s surface is covered with large, active volcanoes • Granymede is the largest moon in the solar system and is bigger than Mercury

  4. The Outer Planets • Saturn – Second largest planet with an average density less than that of water • Takes 29 years to rotate around the sun, but only about11 hours to rotate on it’s axis • Interior is so hot that it radiates more energy than it receives from the sun • Atmosphere – thick like Jupiter and made up mainly of hydrogen and helium • Rings –made of chunks of ice and rock, each traveling in its own orbit around Saturn • Rings are divided by narrow,dark regions

  5. The Outer Planets • It has 53 known moons in addition to it’s rings • Titan is the largest of Saturn’s moons. • And the only moon in the solar system that has an atmosphere

  6. The Outer Planets • Uranus – Much colder than Jupiter or Saturn • Appears blue-green due to • traces of methane in its atmosphere • Takes 84 years to rotate around the sun, but only about17 hours to rotate on it’s axis • Considered an “Ice Giant” because 80% of its mass is hot, dense ‘icy’ material • Made up of water, methane, and ammonia • Atmosphere – Made of mainly of hydrogen, helium, and methane

  7. The Outer Planets • Has27 known moons • It has 13 very faint rings • The first 9 ringswere not discovered until 1977 • 2 more rings were discovered in 1986 • Another 2 rings were discovered in 2003 • Only planet that is tilted at almost 90o so that it spins from top to bottom instead of side to side

  8. The Outer Planets • Neptune – Cold, blue planet with visible clouds • Similar in size and color to • Uranus and considered another ice giant • Takes 165 years to rotate around the sun, but only about16 hours to rotate on it’s axis • Scientist believe that it is slowly shrinking, causing the interior to heat up • As the energy from the core rises to the surface, it produces clouds and storms • In 1989 a storm the size of the Earth created a GreatDarkSpot that was photographed

  9. The Outer Planets • Unlike the storm on Jupiter, it did notlast long and was gone 5 years later • Has13 known moons • It has 6 very faint rings that were not discovered until 1989

  10. Comets, Asteroids, & Meteors • Comets – loose collections of ice, dust and rocks with very long, narrow elliptical orbits • Comet’s Head – brightest part of the comet • Made of a nucleus surrounded by a coma • Nucleus – solid inner core • Coma – clouds of gas and dust created when the ice melts as it get closer to the sun • Comet’s Tail – comets have two tails, a dust tail and a gas tail

  11. Comets, Asteroids, & Meteors • Asteroids– Solid, rocky, irregularpieces that never came together to form a planet • Have a great range of sizes • Have no atmosphere • Most of the asteroids in our solar system revolve around the sun in the AsteroidBelt between Mars and Jupiter • Highly susceptible to gravitational pulls and collisions that alter their orbits

  12. Comets, Asteroids, & Meteors • Meteors – Fragments of metal and rock that come from comets or asteroids. • When they enter the atmosphere they create streaks of light • Meteor showers happen regularly, usually several times a year • Most meteors burn up as they enter the atmosphere • The ones that hit the Earth are called meteorites • When they impact, they create craters

  13. In Closing • What are some of the differences between the inner planets and the outer planets? • What is the difference between an asteroid and a comet?

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