Earth science

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Jupiter’s Largest Moons

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23.3 The Outer Planets

 The most prominent feature of Saturn is its system of rings.

 Features of Saturn

• Saturn’s atmosphere is very active, with winds roaring at up to 1500 kilometers per hour.

• Large cyclonic “storms” similar to Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, although smaller, occur in Saturn’s atmosphere.

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Cassini Approaching Saturn

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23.3 The Outer Planets

 Saturn’s Rings

• Until the discovery that Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune have ring systems, this phenomenon was thought to be unique to Saturn.

• Most rings fall into one of two categories based on particle density.

 Saturn’s Moons

• Saturn’s satellite system consists of 31 moons.

• Titan is the largest moon, and it is bigger than Mercury.

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Saturn’s Rings

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23.3 The Outer Planets

 Instead of being generally perpendicular to the plane of its orbit like the other planets, Uranus’s axis of rotation lies nearly parallel with the plane of its orbit.

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Uranus

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23.3 The Outer Planets

 Winds exceeding 1000 kilometers per hour encircle Neptune, making it one of the windiest places in the solar system.

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Neptune

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23.3 The Outer Planets

 Pluto’s orbit is highly eccentric, causing it to occasionally travel inside the orbit of Neptune, where it resided from 1979 through February 1999.

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Minor Members of the Solar System

 An asteroid is a small, rocky body whose diameter can range from a few hundred kilometers to less than a kilometer.

 Most asteroids lie between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. They have orbital periods of three to six years.

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Irregular Orbits of Asteroids

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23.4 Minor Members of the Solar System