The Outer Planets

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    The outer planets are outside of the asteroid belt. They are farther away from the Sun. They are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Most of them are made up of gas except Pluto. 

Jupiter

o   Planet Description: Jupiter has three thick layers of clouds with no solid surface. Jupiter is made up of gas that turns to liquid 1/4 the way to the core. Jupiter has a great red spot that is believed to be a major storm which is  as large as the Earth.

o    Location Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun.

o    Planet Facts:

·        Solar Distance Jupiter is 778,330,000 km from the Sun.   

·        Revolution Period 4331 days

·        Rotation Period 9.9 hours

·        Equatorial Diameter 142,984 km

·        Gravitational Pull 2.31 of Earth's gravity

·        Satellites Jupiter has 63 moons and the major ones are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto

Saturn

o    Planet Description: Saturn has no solid surface and is made up of gases. Saturn has a 8 ring system that are made up of rock and ice particles. Saturn atmosphere is made up of hydrogen and helium.

o    Location Saturn is the sixth planet from he Sun.

o    Planet Facts:

·        Solar Distance Saturn is 143,350,000 km from the Sun.

·        Revolution Period 10,747 days

·        Rotation Period 10.7 hours

·        Equatorial Diameter 120,536 km

·        Gravitational Pull .9 of Earth's gravity

·        Satellites Saturn has 33 moons and the largest is Titan and smallest is Pan

Uranus

o    Planet Description: Uranus is also a gas planet. Uranus has 11 rings and it rotates on its side. Its gravity is almost the same as Earth. Its atmosphere is filled with methane, that is why it has a blue color.

o    Location Uranus is the seventh planet form the Sun.

o    Planet Facts:

·        Solar Distance 2,872,500,000 km form the Sun.

·        Revolution Period 30,589 days

·        Rotation Period -17.2 hours

·        Equatorial Diameter 51,118 km

·        Gravitational Pull .87 of Earth's gravity

·        Satellites Uranus has 21 moons and the moons take names of writers

Neptune

o    Planet Description:  Neptune is the last gas planet. Its gravity is almost as same as Earth. Its atmosphere is filled with methane that is why it also has a blue color. It has one great spot called the Great Dark Spot. It is believed to be a storm.

o    Location Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun.

o    Planet Facts:

·        Solar Distance Neptune is 4,495,100,000 km from the Sun.

·        Revolution Period 59,800 days

·        Rotation Period 16.1 hours

·        Equatorial Diameter 49,528 km

·        Gravitational Pull 1.1 times of Earth's gravity

·        Satellites Neptune has 8 moons and the three main ones are Nereid, Proteus, and Triton.

Pluto

o    Planet Description: Pluto is the smallest and the coolest of the planets. It sometimes travels inside of Neptune's orbit. The surface of Pluto is filled with nitrogen, carbon monoxide, methane frozen into snow. Pluto is red near the equator blue near the poles.

o    Location Pluto is the last planet from the Sun.

o    Planet Facts:

·        Solar Distance Pluto is 587,000,000 km from the Sun.

·        Revolution Period 90,588 days

·        Rotation Period -153.3 hours

·        Equatorial Diameter 2390 km

·        Gravitational Pull .01 of Earth's gravity

·        Satellites Pluto has one moon named Charon

Sources:

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planetfact.html

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/jupiter/moons.shtml

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/saturn/

http://www.solarviews.com/eng/saturn.htm

http://www.nineplanets.org/uranus.html

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/uranus/

http://www.nineplanets.org/neptune.html

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/neptune/

http://www.pd.astro.it/E-MOSTRA/NEW/A2023SAT.HTM

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/pluto/

Images from:

http://moons.info/moons/rotatable-globes/jpeg-256x256/Jupiter-225.jpg   

http://www.kenmusgrave.com/saturn.jpg

http://gw.marketingden.com/planets/images/fullsize/uranus.jpg

http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~apuhn/apuhnplanets/neptune.jpg

http://moons.info/moons/rotatable-globes/jpeg-256x256/Pluto-090.jpg