ASTRONOMY HOME ABOUT CONTENT OTHERS
JOVIAN
PLANETS
Exploring the wonders of our Solar System and its celestial bodies
General Science 3
JOVIAN PLANETS
These images of the four Jovian planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune — hint at some of the remarkable attributes that set them apart from the
smaller, rocky terrestrial planets. Also called “giant planets,” the Jovian planets
occupy orbits in the outer solar system at distances ranging from 5 ( Jupiter) to
30 (Neptune) times the Earth’s distance from the Sun.
JOVIAN PLANETS
Unlike the terrestrial planets that make up our inner solar system — Mercury,
Venus, Earth, and Mars — the Jovian planets do not have solid surfaces. Instead,
they are composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, with traces of methane,
ammonia, water, and other gases in their atmospheres. These gases make up a
deep atmosphere and become tightly compressed around relatively tiny cores of
rock. At great depths within Jupiter, for example, the hydrogen gas is compacted
so tightly that it exists in a rare metallic form.
JUPITER HOME ABOUT CONTENT OTHERS
Jupiter is a colorful and dynamic planet.
Distinct details in its cloud patterns allow us
to determine the rotation rate of its
atmosphere at the cloud level, although such
atmosphere rotation may have little to do
with the spin of the underlying planet.
Since the magnetic field originates deep
inside the planet, it shares the rotation of the
interior. The rotation period we measure in
this way is 9 hours 56 minutes, which gives
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Jupiter the shortest “day” of any planet.
INTERNAL ENERGY
SOURCE
Jupiter has the largest internal energy source,
amounting to 4 × 1017 watts; that is, it is heated
from inside with energy equivalent to 4 million
billion 100-watt lightbulbs. This energy is about the
same as the total solar energy absorbed by Jupiter.
The atmosphere of Jupiter is therefore something of
a cross between a normal planetary atmosphere
(like Earth’s), which obtains most of its energy from
the Sun, and the atmosphere of a star, which is
entirely heated by an internal energy source. Most
of the internal energy of Jupiter is primordial heat,
left over from the formation of the planet 4.5 billon
MAGNETOSPHERE
The Jovian magnetosphere is the region of space
influenced by Jupiter's powerful magnetic field. It balloons
600,000 to 2 million miles (1 to 3 million kilometers)
toward the Sun (seven to 21 times the diameter of Jupiter
itself) and tapers into a tadpole-shaped tail extending
more than 600 million miles (1 billion kilometers) behind
Jupiter, as far as Saturn's orbit. Jupiter's enormous
magnetic field is 16 to 54 times as powerful as that of the
Earth. It rotates with the planet and sweeps up particles
that have an electric charge. Near the planet, the
magnetic field traps swarms of charged particles and
accelerates them to very high energies, creating intense
radiation that bombards the innermost moons and can
damage spacecraft.
DIAMETER, DISTANCE,
DENSITY
Diameter (km) and Mass (Earth = 1)
Jupiter is the largest of the four, with a diameter of
142,800 km and a mass 318 times that of Earth.
Distance (AU) and Period (years) • Jupiter orbits
the Sun at a distance of 5.2 AU and takes 11.9
years to complete one revolution.
Density (g/cm³) Jupiter - Its density is 1.3 g/cm³,
indicating that it is mostly made of gas.
MOONS
Jupiter has 95 moons that are officially recognized
by the International Astronomical Union. The four
largest moons – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto
– were first observed by the astronomer Galileo
Galilei in 1610 using an early version of the
telescope. These four moons are known today as
the Galilean satellites, and they're some of the
most fascinating destinations in our solar system.
RINGS
Discovered in 1979 by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, Jupiter's
rings were a surprise. The rings are composed of small, dark
particles, and they are difficult to see except when backlit by the
Sun. Data from the Galileo spacecraft indicate that Jupiter's ring
system may be formed by dust kicked up as interplanetary
meteoroids smash into the giant planet's small innermost
STORM
The Great Red Spot, a swirling oval of clouds twice as wide as
Earth, has been observed on the giant planet for more than
300 years. In 2021, findings from Juno showed that Jupiter’s
storms are far taller than expected, with some extending 60
miles (100 kilometers) below the cloud tops and others,
including the Great Red Spot, extending over 200 miles (350
kilometers).
SATURN HOME ABOUT CONTENT OTHERS
Like fellow gas giant Jupiter, Saturn is a
massive ball made mostly of hydrogen and
helium. Saturn is not the only planet to have
rings, but none are as spectacular or as
complex as Saturn's. Saturn also has dozens of
moons.
Saturn has the second-shortest day in the solar
system. One day on Saturn takes only 10.7
hours (the time it takes for Saturn to rotate or
spin around once), and Saturn makes a
complete orbit around the Sun (a year in
INTERNAL ENERGY
SOURCE Saturn has an internal energy source about half as
large as that of Jupiter, which means (since its mass is
only about one quarter as great) that it is producing
twice as much energy per kilogram of material as
does Jupiter. Since Saturn is expected to have much
less primordial heat, there must be another source at
work generating most of this 2 × 1017 watts of
power. This source is the separation of helium from
hydrogen in Saturn’s interior. In the liquid hydrogen
mantle, the heavier helium forms droplets that sink
toward the core, releasing gravitational energy. In
effect, Saturn is still differentiating—letting lighter
material rise and heavier material fall.
MAGNETOSPHERE
Saturn's magnetic field is smaller than Jupiter's but
still 578 times as powerful as Earth's. Saturn, the
rings, and many of the satellites lie totally within
Saturn's enormous magnetosphere, the region of
space in which the behavior of electrically charged
particles is influenced more by Saturn's magnetic field
than by the solar wind.
DIAMETER, DISTANCE,
DENSITY
Saturn, the second-largest planet, has a diameter
of 120,540 km and a mass 95 times that of Earth.
It orbits the Sun at 9.5 AU and completes an orbit
in 29.5 years.
It is notable for its low density of 0.7 g/cm³, which
means it could theoretically float in water.
MOONS
Saturn is home to a vast array of intriguing and
unique worlds. From the haze-shrouded surface of
Titan to crater-riddled Phoebe, each of Saturn's
moons tells another piece of the story surrounding
the Saturn system. As of June 8, 2023, Saturn has
146 moons in its orbit, with others continually
awaiting confirmation of their discovery and official
naming by the International Astronomical Union
(IAU).
RINGS
Saturn's rings are thought to be pieces of comets,
asteroids, or shattered moons that broke up before
they reached the planet, torn apart by Saturn's
powerful gravity. They are made of billions of small
chunks of ice and rock coated with other materials
such as dust. The ring particles mostly range from
tiny, dust-sized icy grains to chunks as big as a
house. A few particles are as large as mountains.
The rings would look mostly white if you looked at
them from the cloud tops of Saturn, and
interestingly, each ring orbits at a different speed
around the planet.
URANUS HOME ABOUT CONTENT OTHERS
Uranus is a very cold and windy world. The ice giant
is surrounded by 13 faint rings and 28 small moons.
Uranus rotates at a nearly 90-degree angle from
the plane of its orbit. This unique tilt makes Uranus
appear to spin sideways, orbiting the Sun like a
rolling ball.
Uranus was the first planet found with the aid of a
telescope. It was discovered in 1781 by astronomer
William Herschel, although he originally thought it
was either a comet or a star. It was two years later
that the object was universally accepted as a new
planet, in part because of observations by
astronomer Johann Elert Bode.
INTERNAL ENERGY
SOURCE Uranus is one of two ice giants in the outer solar
system (the other is Neptune). Most (80% or more) of
the planet's mass is made up of a hot dense fluid of
"icy" materials – water, methane, and ammonia –
above a small rocky core. Near the core, it heats up to
9,000 degrees Fahrenheit (4,982 degrees Celsius).
Uranus is slightly larger in diameter than its neighbor
Neptune, yet smaller in mass. It is the second least
dense planet; Saturn is the least dense of all.
Uranus gets its blue-green color from methane gas in
the atmosphere. Sunlight passes through the
atmosphere and is reflected back out by Uranus' cloud
tops. Methane gas absorbs the red portion of the light,
resulting in a blue-green color.
MAGNETOSPHERE
Uranus has an unusual, irregularly shaped
magnetosphere. Magnetic fields are typically in
alignment with a planet's rotation, but Uranus'
magnetic field is tipped over: the magnetic axis is tilted
nearly 60 degrees from the planet's axis of rotation,
and is also offset from the center of the planet by one-
third of the planet's radius.
Uranus has auroras, but they are not in line with the
poles like they are on Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn. This is
due to the planet's lopsided magnetic field.
The magnetosphere tail behind Uranus opposite the
Sun extends into space for millions of miles. Its
magnetic field lines are twisted by Uranus’ sideways
rotation into a long corkscrew shape.
DIAMETER, DISTANCE,
DENSITY
Uranus is smaller than both Jupiter and Saturn, with
a diameter of 51,200 km and a mass 14 times that
of Earth.
It orbits the Sun at 19.2 AU and takes 84.1 years to
complete a full revolution.
Its density is 1.3 g/cm³, slightly higher than
Saturn’s but similar to Jupiter’s.
NEPTUNE HOME ABOUT CONTENT OTHERS
Dark, cold, and whipped by supersonic winds, ice giant
Neptune is more than 30 times as far from the Sun as
Earth. Neptune is the only planet in our solar system
not visible to the naked eye. In 2011 Neptune
completed its first 165-year orbit since its discovery in
1846. Using predictions made by Urbain Le Verrier,
Johann Galle discovered the planet in 1846. The planet
is named after the Roman god of the sea, as suggested
by Le Verrier.
Neptune is so far from the Sun that high noon on the
big blue planet would seem like dim twilight to us. The
warm light we see here on our home planet is roughly
900 times as bright as sunlight on Neptune
INTERNAL ENERGY
SOURCE Neptune is one of two ice giants in the outer solar
system (the other is Uranus). Most (80% or more)
of the planet's mass is made up of a hot dense
fluid of "icy" materials – water, methane, and
ammonia – above a small, rocky core. Of the giant
planets, Neptune is the densest.
Scientists think there might be an ocean of super
hot water under Neptune's cold clouds. It does not
boil away because incredibly high pressure keeps it
locked inside.
MAGNETOSPHERE
The main axis of Neptune's magnetic field is tipped
over by about 47 degrees compared with the
planet's rotation axis. Like Uranus, whose magnetic
axis is tilted about 60 degrees from the axis of
rotation, Neptune's magnetosphere undergoes wild
variations during each rotation because of this
misalignment. The magnetic field of Neptune is
about 27 times more powerful than that of Earth.
DIAMETER, DISTANCE,
DENSITY
Neptune, the smallest of the four Jovian planets,
has a diameter of 49,500 km and a mass 17 times
that of Earth.
It is the most distant, located 30.0 AU from the
Sun, and takes 164.8 years to complete one orbit.
Among the four, Neptune has the highest density
at 1.6 g/cm³, suggesting a greater proportion of
heavier elements compared to the others.
STORM
This Hubble Space Telescope snapshot of the dynamic blue-green planet Neptune
reveals a monstrous dark storm (top center) and the emergence of a smaller dark
spot nearby (top right). The giant vortex, which is wider than the Atlantic Ocean,
was traveling south toward certain doom by atmospheric forces at the equator
when it suddenly made a U-turn and began drifting back northward. The large
storm, which is 4,600 miles across, is the fourth dark spot Hubble has observed on
Neptune since 1993. Two other dark storms were discovered by the Voyager 2
spacecraft in 1989 as it flew by the distant planet, but they had disappeared before
Hubble could observe them.
ASTRONOMY HOME ABOUT CONTENT OTHERS
THANK
YOU!
Thank you for joining this journey through the
Solar System. Keep exploring the stars!
GENERAL SCIENCE 3