Ch 11+12 Flashcards
Giant Planets Composition
- Gases: hydrogen, helium
- Ices: water, methane, ammonia
- Rocks: magnesium, silicon, iron, etc.
“Gas Giants”
Jupiter + Saturn
“Ice Giants”
Uranus + Neptune
Jupiter Rotation
9 hours 56 minutes, shortest day of any planet due to magnetic field deep inside planet
Jupiter Spin Axis
3 degrees tilt, no seasons
Saturn Spin Axis
27 degrees tilt, does have seasons
Neptune Spin Axis
29 degrees tilt, similar seasons, just more slowly
Uranus Spin Axis
98 degrees tilt north, basically orbits on its side
Jupiter Internal Structure
Rock, Ice, Metallic Hydrogen, Molecular Hydrogen
Saturn Internal Strucure
Rock, Ice, Metallic Hydrogen (less), Molecular Hydrogen
Uranus + Neptune Internal Structure
Rock, Ice, Molecular Hydrogen
Internal Energy of Giant Planets
- Jupiter, most
- Saturn, half of Jupiter
- Neptune, small internal energy source
- Uranus, no measurable amount of internal heat
Jupiter’s Magnetic Field
- Very very strong
- Axis of mag. field is 10 degrees, different from axis of rotation
Voyager 2
Toured all of the outer planets
Direct / Regular Orbits
Roughly 1/3 of moons in outer solar system have these orbits – revolve parent planet west to east in plane of equator
Retrograde
Orbit in east to west direction
High Eccentricity Orbit
More elliptical orbit than circular
High Inclination Orbit
Moving in and out of planet’s equatorial plane
Jupiter’s Moons
67 known moons: Callisto, Ganymede, Europa, Io
Saturn’s Moons
62 known moons: Titan - only moon with substantial atmosphere + lakes or seas of liquid hydrocarbons, Enceladus - active geysers
Saturn’s Rings
Broad + flat with few major and many minor gaps | huge collection of icy fragments
Uranus System
Tilted at 98 degrees; 11 rings, 27 known moons
Neptune Moons
14 known moons: Triton
Uranus + Neptune’s Rings
Narrow + Faint, made of dark materials
