The Outer Planets

1. The Outer Planets

2. Warm Up Questions CPS Questions (1-2) Chapter 3, Lesson 3

3. Lesson Overview • Jupiter • Saturn • Uranus • Neptune Chapter 3, Lesson 3

4. Quick Write Can you think of an experience in your own life, or in someone else’s, where something that you observed turned out to be very different from what you thought it was? What does that experience suggest about the mindset a scientist must have to deal with new data and observations? (Note to teacher: Use “Pick a Student” button in CPS) Chapter 3, Lesson 3

5. Jupiter as Seen From Earth and From Space • Jupiter is the Solar System’s largest planet • 318 times the mass of Earth • Volume is 1,400 times that of Earth • Takes nearly 12 Earth years to cycle around the Sun Courtesy of Voyager 1, NASA Chapter 3, Lesson 3

6. Jupiter’s Rotation • Light- and dark-colored bands parallel to its equator • The phenomenon of different parts of a planet having different periods of rotation is known as differential rotation • Jupiter is somewhat oblate, or flattened at the poles; this is an effect of Jupiter’s swift rotation Courtesy of California Institute of Technology Chapter 3, Lesson 3

7. The Composition of Jupiter’s Atmosphere • 90 percent hydrogen and 10 percent helium, with small amounts of methane, ammonia and water vapor • Small amounts of certain heavier elements • Carbon, nitrogen and sulfur • Three so-called “noble” gases • Argon, krypton and xenon Chapter 3, Lesson 3

8. Jupiter’s Three Groups of Moons • Fragmented moonlets • Galilean satellites: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto • Remaining 55 moons: Astronomers speculate that these moons are captured asteroids Courtesy of Galileo Project /JPL/NASA Chapter 3, Lesson 3

9. Saturn • The astronomer Galileo first observed Saturn in 1610 • Some 50 years later the Dutch physicist and astronomer Christian Huygens recognized that the “ears” on Saturn were really rings Chapter 3, Lesson 3

10. Saturn’s Size, Mass, and Density • Not much smaller in diameter than Jupiter • Only half as dense • 0.7 the density of water • Has a less dense core and less liquid metallic hydrogen than Jupiter does Courtesy of NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Chapter 3, Lesson 3

11. Saturn’s Speed of Rotation and Solar Orbit • 29.5 Earth years to orbit the Sun • Rotates on its axis in 10 hours, 39 minutes • Saturn’s rings are in the plane of its equator • Tilts 27 degrees with respect to its orbital plane Courtesy of NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team, STScI/AURA/Acknowledgment: R.G. French (Wellesley College), J. Cuzzi (NASA/Ames), L. Dones (SWRI), J. Lissauer (NASA/Ames) Chapter 3, Lesson 3

12. Titan, Saturn’s Largest Moon • Largest of more than 60 moons • Second largest in the Solar System • Data from Huygens probe suggest that at one point, Titan had an atmosphere five times as dense as it is today Chapter 3, Lesson 3

13. The Particles That Form Saturn’s Rings • Chunks of water ice and smaller bits of rock and organic matter • Lots of empty space between the chunks too Chapter 3, Lesson 3

14. What Led Herschel to Discover the Planet Uranus • Object did not appear as a point of light, as stars do • It moved • That suggested a different kind of celestial object Courtesy of NASA/JPL/STScI Chapter 3, Lesson 3

15. The Motion of Uranus and the Tilt of Its Equatorial Plane • Takes 84 Earth years to orbit the Sun • Axis is tilted 90 degrees to its orbital plane • The poles alternate between 42 years of sunlight and 42 years of darkness Chapter 3, Lesson 3

16. How Uranus’s Moons Act as Shepherds for the Particles of Its Ring • First reliable determination of Uranus’s diameter used an occultation – the passing of one astronomical object in front of another • Inner moon will orbit faster than the ring’s particles • Particles passing the outer moon are slowed somewhat while doing so Chapter 3, Lesson 3

17. What Made Scientists Search for Neptune • Another planet was disturbing Uranus’s orbit Courtesy of NASA/ESA/E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona), and H.B. Hammel (Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado) Chapter 3, Lesson 3

18. Neptune’s Wind Speeds and Differential Rotation • Experiences differential rotation – to an extreme degree • Magnetic field rotates every 16 hours and seven minutes • Strong winds and storm systems suggest that Neptune has an annual cycle of seasons Chapter 3, Lesson 3 Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech

19. The Unusual Orbits of Neptune’s Two Major Moons • Triton revolves clockwise around its planet • Nereid has the most eccentric orbit Chapter 3, Lesson 3 Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech

20. Learning Check CPS Questions (3-4) Chapter 3, Lesson 3

21. Activity 1: The Outer Planets Puzzle • Complete the crossword puzzle using vocabulary words and other terms from the lesson • You may use your textbook pages 116-130 Chapter 3, Lesson 3

22. Activity 2: Jovian Rings & Moons • Two things that the Jovian planets have in common are the fact that they all have rings and they all have moons • Answer the questions about the rings and the moons of the four outer planets Chapter 3, Lesson 3

23. Activity 3: Planet Profiles Create a profile sheet for each of the planets in our Solar System. Chapter 3, Lesson 3

24. Technology Enrichment: Alien Safari • Launch the Alien Safari • As you select each Life Zone, listen carefully and fill in the chart • Work with your group to complete the questions Chapter 3, Lesson 3

25. Review • The four planets farthest from the Sun are called the Jovian planets • All of the Jovian planets have rings and multiple moons • Scientists are still discovering information about these planets Chapter 3, Lesson 3

26. Review Questions CPS Questions (5-6) Chapter 3, Lesson 3

27. Summary • Jupiter • Saturn • Uranus • Neptune Chapter 3, Lesson 3

28. Next… • Done – The Outer Planets • Next – Dwarf Planets, Comets, Asteroids, and Kuiper Belt Objects Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD Chapter 3, Lesson 3