Some planets are closer to the sun* than

Some planets are closer to the sun* than others *the solar systems heater

hottest coldest What are the characteristics of the gas giant planets?

Gas giant planets Surface temperatures of gas giant planets Planet

Surface (cloud top) Temperature Jupiter

-243 F Saturn

-301 F Uranus -353 F

Neptune -373 F

What are the characteristics of the gas giant planets? Gas giant planets Jupiter

The largest planet in the solar system. A gas giant made mostly of Hydrogen and Helium. You

cant stand on it! Jupiter has a very dynamic atmosphere

The great red spot (the size of the Earth) Jupiters largest moons (It actually has at least 63 moons) Which of the moons are geologically active?

Io Europa

Ganymede Callisto Saturn

The second largest planet in the solar system. A gas giant made mostly of Hydrogen

and Helium. Largest ring system. Saturns north pole has a hexagon!

Photo from Cassini spacecraft The Cassini spacecraft looks back at the Earth Actually, all of the giant planets have rings

Jupiter Uranus Neptune

Largest moons of Saturn (Saturn has at least 60 moons) Saturns largest moon Titan

View of surface from Huygens probe atmosphere

surface The Ice Giants: Uranus and Neptune Uranus was discovered in 1781.

Neptune was discovered in 1846. Is it easy to see and identify Uranus and Neptune as planets? Why or why not?

Uranus was discovered in 1781. Neptune was discovered in 1846. Is it easy to see and identify Uranus and Neptune as planets? Why or why not? How are they identified as planets?

Uranus and Neptune are made mostly of ice They have rocky cores Their atmospheres are

made of water, hydrogen, helium and methane Why are Uranus and Neptune blue?

Why are Uranus and Neptune blue? Methane absorbs red light, so all we see reflected is blue. Some of the moons of

Uranus m so la

rs ys te th

e Uranus is tilted by ~90 degrees.

What are seasons like on Uranus? How did Uranus

end up like this?? How do you think these moons formed?

Here are the large moons of Uranus Do they look geologically dead or geologically active? Neptune has one large moon, Triton

A picture of Triton from the Voyager spacecraft Does it look geologically dead or geologically active?

Triton has a retrograde orbit (it goes around Neptune the wrong way) How do you think Triton became a moon?