THE OUTER PLANETS Chapter 3 Lesson 2

Pages 162- 169 WB pages 55-56

Create the foldable on pg 169.

The Outer Planets

Jupiter and Saturn

Uranus and Neptune

Infer Questions

What are the outer planets?

§  Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are the outer planets.

§  Properties of the Outer Planets- ú  Larger than the inner planets ú  Rotate very rapidly ú  Interior structure- thick gaseous

atmosphere, a liquid interior, and a small solid core

Comparing the Sizes of Planets

§  How do the sizes of the outer planets compare to one another?

§  Jupiter is the largest planet, followed by Saturn. Neptune and Uranus are close to the same size but Uranus is slightly larger.

Jupiter §  BrainPop- Jupiter NASA- Jupiter §  Facts about Jupiter-

ú  ball of gas, that 1,000 Earth’s could fit inside ú  largest planet, diameter is 143,000 km (89,000 miles)- 11 times

Earth’s size ú  778 million km (480 million miles) from the sun, 5 times more

distant from the sun than Earth is ú  more mass than the other planets combined ú  completes an orbit in 4,333 Earth days- almost 12 Earth years ú  rotates on its axis at 3 degrees and rotates faster than any other

planet; It only takes 9 hours and 56 minutes to spin around once on its axis.

ú  Atmosphere consists of- mostly hydrogen and helium, small amounts of methane, ammonia, and water vapor

ú  Below the atmosphere is a layer of liquid hydrogen and helium. Scientists think that there is a layer of liquid metallic hydrogen below this layer.

More Facts about Jupiter ú  core- metal, rock, and ice ú  The Giant Red Spot- huge storm, scientist thinks it gets its colored

from the sulfur and phosphorus in the atmosphere, the storm has been blowing continuously for more than 400 years, wind speeds can reach speeds of about 435 km per hour (270 miles per hour), diameter of 24,800 km (15,400 mi)- almost twice the size of the diameter of Earth

ú  Jupiter’s largest moons- Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa are called Galilean moons.

�  These moons are named after Galileo Galilei, who discovered them with his telescope in 1610.

�  Scientist have discovered active volcanoes on Io and scientists wonder if life may be present on Europa.

§  The distance from the Sun is often reported as an average number. What can you infer from this?

§  The orbits of the planets are not circular.

Saturn §  BrainPop- Saturn NASA- Saturn §  Facts about Saturn-

ú  Second largest planet ú  1.4 billion km from the Sun ú  it isn’t perfectly spherical- flattened at the poles, it may be

because of its very fast rotation ú  A day on Saturn lasts only 10 hours and 39 min. ú  Atmosphere- mostly hydrogen and helium, similar to Jupiter,

winds move at 500 meters per second (1,100 mph) near the equator

ú  Orbiting around Saturn are rings made of pieces of ice and rock, some of these pieces are as small as a grain of sand while others are as large as a house

ú  Scientist think the rings may be pieces of comets, asteroids or moons.

ú  BrainPop- Comets NASA- Comets ú  A comet is a mixture of frozen gases, ice,

dust, and rock that move in orbit around the Sun.

ú  Comets, asteroids, or moons that strayed too close to Saturn could have been broken up after being captured by Saturn’s gravity.

More facts about Saturn

Uranus §  BrainPop- Uranus NASA- Uranus §  Facts about Uranus:

ú  Seventh planet ú  1st planet that was discovered with a telescope. ú  Orbits- once every 84 Earth Days ú  Unusual looking because it looks like it was knocked on its

side, scientist think that a collision with another object made Uranus tip on its side

ú  Uranus is tilted on its axis 98 degrees, summer at the North Pole lasts for 21 years, the same is true for the South Pole

ú  Atmosphere- 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, 2% methane; the blue-green color of Uranus is due to methane in the upper atmosphere, scientist think that the core is rock and ice surrounded by an outer layer of ice made of ammonium, water and methane

ú  27 moons, the names of the moons such as Ophelia and Juliet, come from the works of William Shakespeare

Neptune §  BrainPop- Neptune NASA- Neptune §  Facts about Neptune

ú  last of the gas giants and the last of the planets in our solar system

ú  4.5 billion km (2.8 billion mi) from the Sun ú  The light from the Sun is 900 times fainter than it is

on Earth. ú  165 years to orbit the Sun, 16 hours to rotate on its

axis, about 4 times the size of Earth ú  atmosphere- similar to Uranus, hydrogen, helium,

methane, and water; methane gives the planet the blue color; strongest wind of any planets, wind can blow at speeds up to 2,000 km per hour (1,250 mph); storms have been detected

More Facts about Neptune ú  Neptune has at least five rings, none are very

bright.    At least 13 moons    One moon, Triton, is larger than Pluto. It has

similarities to Earth. It has geysers and even seasons.

Dwarf Planets §  Pluto was once considered to be the

9th planet. In August 2006, scientist officially reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet.

§  A dwarf planet is an object that is spherical in shape, orbits the Sun, and does not clear its orbit of smaller debris.

§  Scientist currently recognize three dwarf planets- Pluto, Eris, and Ceres.

§  NASA- Dwarf Planets

More Facts about Dwarfs Planets §  Facts about Pluto-

ú  two-thirds the size of Earth’s moon ú  average distance from the Sun is 5.9 billion km (3,7

billion mi) ú  rocky core surrounded by water and ice

§  Facts about Eris- ú  2005- discovered ú  Slightly larger than Pluto ú  Takes 557 yrs for Eris to complete one revolution

around the Sun ú  One moon- Sysnomia

§  Facts about Ceres- ú  Found in the asteroid belt between Mars and

Jupiter

Review §  How do the outer planets differ in size from

the inner planets? §  The outer planets are much larger than the

inner planets. §  How does a day on one of the outer planets

differ from a day on one of the inner planets?

§  The outer planets rotate very rapidly, so a day on one of the outer planets would be short.

Review §  Name one way Saturn differs from other

planets. §  Saturn’s rings are more noticeable than the

other planet’s, or it is smaller than Jupiter, but larger than Uranus and Neptune.

§  How does Neptune compare to Uranus? §  They have similar colors and atmospheres

made of the same gases. Both have rings and a number of moons.

§  How do the giant planets compare to dwarf planets?

§  The dwarf planets are much smaller than the giant planets.

Review §  Why are scientists still discovering objects in

the outer parts of our solar system? §  New and more powerful telescopes are

being developed that can see farther into space. Our solar system is large and takes time to explore.

§  Comparing Sizes of Planets §  Travel to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and

Neptune §  Exploring Different Images (Click on the

images 14-23, describe and name the images, then click on the Part 2 Researcher’s Description at the bottom of the page)

Review §  The Solar System §  Kids Astronomy- The Solar System, Click on

the different outer planets. §  Starchild- Planets and Dwarf Planets §  NASA- Grades 5-8 §  Order It Up- Solar System §  Planet Image Cards §  Planetary Orbits §  Scholastic- Planets §  Solar System Jigsaw Puzzle §  Space Sense- Click on the names of the

outer planets at the bottom.

A Little More Review

§  Solar System Trading Cards §  Welcome to the Planets §  IknowThat.com- Solar System §  Solar System Switch-a-roo