GAS GIANTS

Gas giants are large planets that contain more than 10 times the mass of Earth, they are
also known as the Jovian or Outer Planets. Their compositions are mostly gases, such as
hydrogen, and small amounts of rocky material (mostly at their cores). The four gas giants in
our solar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Facts About The Gas Giants

• The gas and ice giant planets take longer to orbit the Sun because of their great
distances. The farther away they are, the more time it takes to make one trip around
the Sun.
• The densities of the gas giants are much less than the densities of the rocky, terrestrial
worlds of the solar system.
• Gas giants are not all gas. Beneath the heavy atmospheres of these Jupiter and
Saturn are layers of molecular hydrogen and liquid metallic hydrogen.
• Uranus has an icy layer over its solid rock core, and covered with a gaseous
atmosphere. Neptune has a water-ammonia ocean for a mantle overlying its rocky
core.
• The metallic hydrogen layers in Jupiter and Saturn conduct electricity.
• The cores of the gas giants are crushed under tremendously high pressures and they
are very hot (up to 20,000 K), while the cores of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune
are at 5000K and 5,400K respectively.
• Gas giants have been found around more than a thousand stars by the Kepler
mission. These large exoplanets are often referred to by such names as Hot Jupiters,
SuperJupiters, and Giant Neptunes.
ICE GIANTS

An ice giant planet is one that is at least ten times the mass of Earth, and contains a
higher percentage of what planetary scientists refer to as “ices”. These are volatile elements
heavier than hydrogen and helium, and were in ice form (mainly water) when the planets first
formed. In our solar system, Uranus and Neptune are often referred to as “ice giants” due to
the higher amounts of such volatile they contain. Astronomers have also determined that
some exoplanets could be ice giants, as well.
RING SYSTEMS
A ring system around a planet or asteroid is a disk made up of dust, chunks of material
(ice, in the outer solar system), and small moons. This material forms a ring (or rings) around its
parent body. The largest ring system in the solar system is the one around Saturn. Jupiter, Uranus
and Neptune also have rings, and at least one asteroid is known to have a small ring as well.
 JUPITER FACTS

The planet Jupiter is the fifth planet out from the Sun, and is two and a half times more
massive than all the other planets in the solar system combined. It is made primarily of gases
and is therefore known as a “gas giant”.

Jupiter Planet Profile

Equatorial Diameter: 142,984 km

Polar Diameter: 133,709 km

Mass: 1.90 × 10^27 kg (318 Earths)

Moons: 67 (Io, Europa, Ganymede & Callisto)

Rings: 4

Orbit Distance: 778,340,821 km (5.20 AU)

Orbit Period: 4,333 days (11.9 years)

Effective Temperature: -148 °C

First Record: 7th or 8th century BC

Recorded By: Babylonian astronomers

Jupiter Diagrams

Jupiter size compared to Earth

Facts About Jupiter

• Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in the solar system.

 Only the Sun, Moon and Venus are brighter. It is one of five planets visible to the naked eye from
Earth.
 The ancient Babylonians were the first to record their sightings of Jupiter.
 This was around the 7th or 8th century BC. Jupiter is named after the king of the Roman gods.
To the Greeks, it represented Zeus, the god of thunder. The Mesopotamians saw Jupiter as the
god Marduk and patron of the city of Babylon. Germanic tribes saw this planet as Donar, or
Thor.
 Jupiter has the shortest day of all the planets.
 It turns on its axis once every 9 hours and 55 minutes. The rapid rotation flattens the planet slightly,
giving it an oblate shape.
 Jupiter orbits the Sun once every 11.8 Earth years.
 From our point of view on Earth, it appears to move slowly in the sky, taking months to move
from one constellation to another.
 Jupiter has unique cloud features.
 The upper atmosphere of Jupiter is divided into cloud belts and zones. They are made primarily
of ammonia crystals, sulfur, and mixtures of the two compounds.
 The Great Red Spot is a huge storm on Jupiter.
 It has raged for at least 350 years. It is so large that three Earths could fit inside it.
 Jupiter’s interior is made of rock, metal, and hydrogen compounds.
 Below Jupiter’s massive atmosphere (which is made primarily of hydrogen), there are layers of
compressed hydrogen gas, liquid metallic hydrogen, and a core of ice, rock, and metals.
 Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system.
 Jupiter’s moons are sometimes called the Jovian satellites, the largest of these are Ganymeade,
Callisto Io and Europa. Ganymeade measures 5,268 km across, making it larger than the planet
Mercury.
 Jupiter has a thin ring system.
 Its rings are composed mainly of dust particles ejected from some of Jupiter’s smaller worlds
during impacts from incoming comets and asteroids. The ring system begins some 92,000
kilometres above Jupiter’s cloud tops and stretches out to more than 225,000 km from the
planet. They are between 2,000 to 12,500 kilometres thick.
 Eight spacecraft have visited Jupiter. Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, Galileo, Cassini,
Ulysses, and New Horizons missions. The Juno mission is its way to Jupiter and will arrive in July
2016. Other future missions may focus on the Jovian moons Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto,
and their subsurface oceans.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

Situated 22° south of Jupiter’s equator, the Great Red Spot is a storm that has been raging for
at least 186 years. In fact, upper estimates suggest that this red and turbulent storm could have been
in existence for over three and a half centuries. A giant red spot was seen on Jupiter in the seventeenth
century, when telescopes first started to be used. However, it is unknown whether this is the same red
spot that we see today, or whether Jupiter has had many such storms that have come and gone as
the centuries pass.

The red spot circulates anticlockwise and takes six (earth) days to rotate completely. Another
mystery surrounding the red spot is what makes it red: scientists have come up with several theories (for
instance, the presence of red organic compounds) but as yet nobody knows for certain. That will be a
question for future astronomy!

Jupiter’s Atmosphere

Jupiter’s atmosphere is special because it is the solar system’s largest planetary atmosphere. It
is made up of hydrogen and helium, in roughly the same proportions as are found in the sun. However,
it also contains much smaller amounts of other space gases, such as ammonia, methane and water.
90% of the atmosphere of Jupiter – a huge proportion – is made of hydrogen. It would be impossible
for humans to breathe in this atmosphere. So, if you are thinking of travelling to space to do some
hands on astronomy research, you would have to wear a breathing suit when visiting this planet.
 URANUS FACTS

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. While being visible to the naked eye, it was not
recognised as a planet due to its dimness and slow orbit. Uranus became the first planet discovered
with the use of a telescope. Uranus is tipped over on its side with an axial tilt of 98 degrees. It is often
described as “rolling around the Sun on its side.”

Uranus Planet Profile

Equatorial Diameter: 51,118 km

Polar Diameter: 49,946 km

Mass: 8.68 × 10^25 kg (15 Earths)

Moons: 27 (Miranda, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel & Oberon)

Rings: 13

Orbit Distance: 2,870,658,186 km (19.19 AU)

Orbit Period: 30,687 days (84.0 years)

Effective Temperature: -216 °C

Discovery Date: March 13th 1781

Discovered By: William Herschel

Uranus Diagrams

Uranus size compared to Earth

Facts About Uranus

• Uranus was officially discovered by Sir William Herschel in 1781.

• It is too dim to have been seen by the ancients. At first Herschel thought it was a comet, but
several years later it was confirmed as a planet. Herscal tried to have his discovery named
“Georgian Sidus” after King George III. The name Uranus was suggested by astronomer Johann
Bode. The name comes from the ancient Greek deity Ouranos.
• Uranus turns on its axis once every 17 hours, 14 minutes.
• The planet rotates in a retrograde direction, opposite to the way Earth and most other planets
turn.
• Uranus makes one trip around the Sun every 84 Earth years.
• During some parts of its orbit one or the other of its poles point directly at the Sun and get about
42 years of direct sunlight. The rest of the time they are in darkness.
• Uranus is often referred to as an “ice giant” planet.
• Like the other gas giants, it has a hydrogen upper layer, which has helium mixed in. Below that
is an icy “mantle, which surrounds a rock and ice core. The upper atmosphere is made of water,
ammonia and the methane ice crystals that give the planet its pale blue colour.
• Uranus hits the coldest temperatures of any planet.
• With minimum atmospheric temperature of -224°C Uranus is nearly coldest planet in the solar
system. While Neptune doesn’t get as cold as Uranus it is on average colder. The upper
atmosphere of Uranus is covered by a methane haze which hides the storms that take place
in the cloud decks.
• Uranus has two sets of very thin dark coloured rings.
• The ring particles are small, ranging from a dust-sized particles to small boulders. There are
eleven inner rings and two outer rings. They probably formed when one or more of Uranus’s
moons were broken up in an impact. The first rings were discovered in 1977 with the two outer
rings being discovered in Hubble Space Telescope images between 2003 and 2005.
• Uranus’ moons are named after characters created by William Shakespeare and Alexander
Pope.
• These include Oberon, Titania and Miranda. All are frozen worlds with dark surfaces. Some are
ice and rock mixtures. The most interesting Uranian moon is Miranda; it has ice canyons,
terraces, and other strange-looking surface areas.
• Only one spacecraft has flown by Uranus.
• In 1986, the Voyager 2 spacecraft swept past the planet at a distance of 81,500 km. It returned
the first close-up images of the planet, its moons, and rings.

Similar Facts

Uranus’ Moons & Shakespeare Uranus’ moons are named after characters from the works of William
Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. To date 27 moons have been discovered around Uranus.

Titania Moon Facts Titania is Uranus’ largest moon and is the eighth largest moon in the solar system.
Like many of Uranus’ moons.

Miranda Moon Facts Miranda is the smallest of the rounded satellites of Uranus. It also orbits the closest
of the five larger moons.
 NEPTUNE FACTS

Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun making it the most distant in the solar system. This gas
giant planet may have formed much closer to the Sun in early solar system history before migrating to
its present position.

Neptune Planet Profile

Equatorial Diameter: 49,528 km

Polar Diameter: 48,682 km

Mass: 1.02 × 10^26 kg (17 Earths)

Moons: 14 (Triton)

Rings: 5

Orbit Distance: 4,498,396,441 km (30.10 AU)

Orbit Period: 60,190 days (164.8 years)

Effective Temperature: -214 °C

Discovery Date: September 23rd 1846

Discovered By: Urbain Le Verrier & Johann Galle

Neptune Diagrams

Neptune size compared to Earth

Facts About Neptune

• Neptune was not known to the ancients.

• It is not visible to the naked eye and was first observed in 1846. Its position was determined using
mathematical predictions. It was named after the Roman god of the sea.
• Neptune spins on its axis very rapidly.
• Its equatorial clouds take 18 hours to make one rotation. This is because Neptune is not solid
body.
• Neptune is the smallest of the ice giants.
• Despite being smaller than Uranus, Neptune has a greater mass. Below its heavy atmosphere,
Uranus is made of layers of hydrogen, helium, and methane gases. They enclose a layer of
water, ammonia and methane ice. The inner core of the planet is made of rock.
• The atmosphere of Neptune is made of hydrogen and helium, with some methane.
• The methane absorbs red light, which makes the planet appear a lovely blue. High, thin clouds
drift in the upper atmosphere.
• Neptune has a very active climate.
• Large storms whirl through its upper atmosphere, and high-speed winds track around the planet
at up 600 meters per second. One of the largest storms ever seen was recorded in 1989. It was
called the Great Dark Spot. It lasted about five years.
• Neptune has a very thin collection of rings.
• They are likely made up of ice particles mixed with dust grains and possibly coated with a
carbon-based substance.
• Neptune has 14 moons.
• The most interesting moon is Triton, a frozen world that is spewing nitrogen ice and dust particles
out from below its surface. It was likely captured by the gravitational pull of Neptune. It is
probably the coldest world in the solar system.
• Only one spacecraft has flown by Neptune.
• In 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft swept past the planet. It returned the first close-up images of
the Neptune system. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has also studied this planet, as
have a number of ground-based telescopes.

Neptune’s Great Dark Spot

The Great Dark Spot in the southern atmosphere of Neptune was first discovered in 1989 by the
Voyager 2 spacecraft. It was an incredibly large rotating storm system with winds of upto 1,500 miles
per hour, the strongest winds recorded on any planet. How such powerful winds were discovered on
a planet so far from the sun is still considered a mystery to this day.

Data from the Voyager 2 spacecraft also showed that the Great Dark Spot varied significantly
in size during their brief pass of the planet. When Neptune was viewed by the Hubble Space telescope
in 1994 the Great Dark Spot had vanished, although a different dark spot had appeared in Neptune’s
northern hemisphere.

Neptune’s Atmosphere

Neptune has an incredibly thick atmosphere comprised of 74% hydrogen, 25% helium and
approximately 1% methane. Its atmosphere also contains icy clouds and the fastest winds recorded in
the solar system. Particles of icy methane and minor gases in the extremities of the atmosphere give
Neptune its deep blue colour. The striking blue and white features of Neptune also help to distinguish
it from Uranus.

Neptune’s atmosphere is subdivided into the lower troposphere and the stratosphere with the
tropopause being the boundary between the two. In the lower troposphere temperatures decrease
with altitude however they increase with altitude in the stratosphere. Hydrocarbons form hazes of smog
that appear in the entire upper atmosphere of Neptune and hydrocarbon snowflakes that form in
Neptune’s atmosphere melt before they reach its surface due to the high pressure.
 SATURN FACTS

Saturn is the sixth Planet from the Sun and the second Largest Planet in the Solar System. It has
seven thin, flat rings and 62 Moons. This planet can be seen by Earth with the naked eye, but the rings
cannot.

Saturn Planet Profile

Mass 95 Earths
Radius 9.4 Earths

Density 0.7 x water

Distance 9.5 AU

Orbital Period 29.4 years

Rotation period 10.6 hours

Diameter 120,540km

Saturn Diagrams

Neptune size compared to Earth

Facts About Saturn

• Saturn is about nine times Earth's radius and is characterized by large rings; how they formed is
unknown.
• It has 53 known moons and nine more awaiting confirmation, according to NASA. Like Jupiter,
it is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium that surround a dense core and was also tracked
by ancient cultures. Its atmosphere is similar to Jupiter's.
• Saturn was known to the ancients, including the Babylonians and Far Eastern observers. It is
named for the Roman god Saturnus, and was known to the Greeks as Cronus.
• Galileo discovered rings 1610, though believed they were moons on either side. Christian
Huygens first coined “Rings” 1665.
• Saturn is the second-largest planet in the solar system.
• Saturn has many moons and large storms, like Jupiter. Saturn has a thick atmosphere made of
mostly hydrogen and helium. Saturn’s atmosphere also contains storms and clouds, but they
are not as big as Jupiter’s.
• Saturn has thousands of rings around it.
• The rings are made of ice and chunks of rock. Each traveling in its own orbit around Saturn.
Saturn has the most spectacular rings of any planet. Saturn’s rings are broad and thin, like a
CD. Saturn’s largest moon,
• Titan, is larger than the planet Mercury. Four other moons of Saturn are each over 1000
kilometers in diameter.

Reference: https://space-facts.com/gas-giants/