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Exploring the Outer Planets: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto

Discover the fascinating characteristics of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Uranus, with a diameter four times that of Earth, resides about 3 billion km from the Sun and has a unique rotation of 16 hours. Neptune, slightly smaller, orbits at 4.5 billion km and boasts the Great Dark Spot. Pluto, the smallest planet, has an elliptical orbit and shares a unique relationship with its moon, Charon. Learn about the Kuiper Belt and its network of icy celestial bodies, including "plutinos," that have orbits similar to Pluto's 248-year cycle.

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Exploring the Outer Planets: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto

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  1. The Outer Planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto

  2. Uranus • About 4 times diameter of Earth • 3 billion km (1-3/4 billion miles) from Sun • 84 Years to Circle Sun • Rotates in 16 hours • Five large satellites (500-1500 km), ten smaller ones • Nine narrow rings

  3. Uranus

  4. Uranus from Voyager

  5. The Rings of Uranus

  6. Uranus Shows Little Detail

  7. Oberon

  8. Titania

  9. Umbriel

  10. Ariel

  11. Miranda

  12. Neptune • About 4 times diameter of Earth- a bit smaller than Uranus • 4.5 billion km (2.8 billion miles) from Sun • 165 Years to Circle Sun • Rotates in 18 hours • One large satellite (2700 km), seven smaller ones • Four narrow rings

  13. Neptune: A Twin of Uranus?No!

  14. The Great Dark Spot

  15. Neptune and Triton

  16. Neptune’s Rings

  17. Triton

  18. Pluto • At 2300 km, Pluto is the smallest planet • Has most elliptical orbit: ranges from 4.4 to 7.4 billion km from Sun (2.8-4.5 billion miles) • Actually crosses orbit of Neptune; closer to Sun than Neptune until 2009 • Orbits in 248 years, 1.5 times Neptune • Because of orbital tilt and resonance, cannot collide with Neptune

  19. Pluto and Charon • Pluto’s moon Charon is almost half as big as Pluto (1100 km) • Orbits only 20,000 km away • Pluto and Charon always keep same face to each other (rotation locked) • Pluto rotates, and Charon revolves, in 6.4 days

  20. Pluto and Charon

  21. Pluto Has Three Moons

  22. Why We Have to Go There

  23. Plutinos and the Kuiper Belt • The Kuiper Belt is an outer ice asteroid belt, probably the source of most comets • Hundreds are now known orbiting beyond Neptune, some beyond Pluto • Pluto is just the biggest of these objects and not really a planet • Several dozen have periods similar to Pluto’s - 250 years - and have been dubbed “plutinos.”

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