The Outer Planets of the Solar System

Table of Contents :

Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun and the largest in our solar system. It has 1 400 times the volume of our Earth, but is only 300 times as heavy because the planet must be made up of gas rather than rocks or metal.

It takes Jupiter almost 12 years to orbit the sun. But it rotates on its own axis very quickly – it completes one full turn every 10 hours. If you look at Jupiter closely, you can see stripes , probably clouds that are created by fast-moving winds.

We don't know very much about Jupiter because not very many spaceships have visited it. In 1979 two American Voyager spacecraft flew past Jupiter and gave us lots of new information. Today we know that most of the planet consists of gases - hydrogen and helium - and does not have a hard core , like the Earth. In 1994 a big comet crashed into Jupiter and stirred up the planet's atmosphere. Scientists could find out what kind of gases Jupiter's atmosphere is made up of.

In 1989 NASA launched an unmanned spacecraft to Jupiter - Galileo. After 6 years, Galileo reached the planet and went into orbit. It sent a small probe through the clouds of Jupiter to find out more about the atmosphere. It turned out to be very dense and filled with sulphur and other poisonous gases, impossible to breathe .

One of Jupiter's main features is a great red spot on the planet, probably a big storm about the size of our earth.

Jupiter has four large moons and many other smaller ones – over 60 moons have been found so far. Galileo discovered the four biggest moons in the 17th century. They are also called the Galilean moons. Ganymede, the biggest moon in the solar system is even larger than Mercury and would be an own planet if it didn't travel around Jupiter. Callisto is as big as Mercury. Both these moons have an icy surface. Io is a rocky, volcanic moon from which lava and sulphur come out. It is about as big as our moon and the innermost of Jupiter's moons. Europa is the smallest of the Galilean moons. It has a very smooth surface and a lot of lines and dots on it that may be frozen rivers or seas. Maybe there is even water underneath the surface of Europa.

Scientists discovered that, not only Saturn, but also Jupiter has a system of rings. They do not reflect the light from the sun because they are made of dark dust and pieces of rock. That's why they are not visible.

Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and the second-largest in our solar system. It is different from the other planets because of its rings, which were first seen by the Italian astronomer Galileo in 1610.

You can see Saturn without using a telescope, but you need one if you want to see its rings. Saturn has a diameter about 10 times larger than the Earth and about 760 Earths could fit into the planet.

Because it spins so quickly, Saturn looks a bit flat, with a longer diameter through the equator than through the poles. Saturn is a very light planet - the only one that would float in a big body of water.

One Saturnian day lasts about 10 hours and it takes the planet almost 30 years to orbit the sun once. Because it moves so quickly around its axis there are strong winds that sweep the whole planet. At the equator they probably have a speed of up to 1700 km an hour. Because it is very far away from the sun, temperatures on the surface are abut -175 ° C.

Saturn's rings are the most fascinating feature about the planet. They are extremely wide, but very flat. They stretch to a distance of over 130,000 km from the planet’s centre, but most of them are only very few meters thick. There are probably over 100,000 separate rings - made of icy rock and frozen gases. This makes them shine in the sunlight.

More than 50 moons have been discovered around Saturn. Some of them are only 20 km wide others are bigger than our moon. Saturn's largest moon is Titan- even larger than Mercury. Not very much is known about this moon because it has a very thick orange-colored atmosphere made up of nitrogen and other gases. Underneath thick clouds there might be some form of water on Titan.

In 1997 NASA launched a spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida with the aim of reaching Saturn. After a 7-year trip Cassini went into orbit around Saturn and sent a small probe to the surface of Saturn's biggest moon, Titan. In the past few years it has sent important data about Titan back to Earth. It also found out that liquid methane rains down on the surface of Titan, forming rivers and lakes of hydrocarbon.

Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun. It is sixth in size and just visible to the human eye. It was discovered by accident by the British astronomer William Herschel in the 18th century.

Uranus has a diameter of over 50,000 km - about 4 times that of the Earth and it is 3 billion km away from the sun. It takes Uranus 84 years for one single orbit around the sun and 17 hours for one rotation around its axis. The unusual thing about Uranus is that its poles are pointed directly at the sun. This means that it orbits the sun on its side. Each pole gets 42 years of sunlight and then 42 years of darkness.

Uranus belongs to the "gas giants". Its atmosphere consists mostly of hydrogen and helium and a bit of methane, which gives the planet a bluish-green color. The surface of Uranus is probably made up of frozen gas. Underneath this crust, there is a layer of poisonous water. The core is ice and rock.

In 1977 an American astronomer discovered that Uranus also has a system of rings. 10 of the 17 moons were discovered when Voyager 2 flew by the planet in 1986.

Neptune

When Neptune was discovered 1846 astronomers thought it was a star. It is the eighth planet from the sun. It does not shine so brightly, so it is only visible when you use a telescope. It appears as a green - bluish disc, like Uranus.

It takes Neptune, which is almost 4.5 billion km away from Earth, almost 165 years to travel around the sun once . Neptune's day is shorter than an Earth day - only 16 hours.

Neptune has a few dark spots. Scientists think that these spots are tremendous hurricanes that travel across the frozen planet. Strong and icy winds of up to 1000 km an hour blow on this planet. They are the fastest winds ever measured in our solar system. Neptune's atmosphere can change very quickly. When Voyager 2 flew past the planet in 1989 the dark spots were gone

Like the other giant planets, Neptune is a ball of gas. The atmosphere is made up of frozen methane , which gives the planet its blue color. The planet has 8 known satellites. The biggest moon is Triton - about the same size as our own moon. It has active ice volcanoes. When they erupt, they shoot frozen nitrogen and gas about 20 km high.

Words

active = it can erupt or explode at any time
aim = a plan ; what you want to do
appear = look
astronomer = a person who studies the stars and the sky
atmosphere = the gases around a planet
axis = the line around which an object turns or spins
billion = a thousand million
breathe = to take in air
by accident = not planned
century = a hundred years
complete = finish
consist of = made up of
continue = go on
core = the inner part of an object
create = make
data = information
dense = thick, heavy
diameter = a line that goes from one end of a circle to the other
discover = to find something for the first time
distance =space between two places
dot = points, marks
dust = very small particles of dirt
equator = a line around the middle of the Earth
feature = characteristic
fit = go into
flat =even, not hilly or mountainous
float = swim
freeze -froze- frozen = when water turns to ice
heavy = how much something weighs
helium = a gas that is lighter than air and is used to make balloons float
hydrocarbon = chemical that consists of hydrogen and carbon
hydrogen = the lightest of all gases; colorless; it forms water if you join it with oxygen
icy = frozen, very cold and covered with ice
launch = start ; to send to space
layer =cover
liquid = watery
measure =to find the size or length of something
methane = a gas that you cannot see or smell; when you burn it it gives off heat
nitrogen = a gas that has no colour and no smell; it forms most of the Earth's atmosphere
orbit = to move around an object in a circle
point =look at, show to
poisonous = something in the air that is dangerous and can kill you
probably =likely
probe = an unmanned spaceship that is sent to another planet to collect information
reach = get to
reflect = shine back
rotate =to move around, spin
rotation = one complete turn around an object
scientist = a person who is trained in science
separate = single
single = only one
smooth = without any rocky parts
spacecraft = spaceship
speed = how fast something is
spin = go around itself
spot = area, place
stir = to make dust or other small particles move around
stretch = to go from one place to another
stripes = lines of different colors
sulphur =a yellow chemical substance that burns and smells bad
surface = the hard top part of a planet
survive = to continue to exist
sweep =move very quickly
telescope = an instrument that makes small, faraway objects look bigger
tremendous = very very big
underneath = below
unmanned spacecraft = spaceship without people on board
unusual = strange, not normal
visible = something that you can see
volume = mass
wide = not narrow

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