The Outer Solar System

Jupiter

• Named for the king of gods in Roman mythology.
• 318 times the mass of Earth and over 1,300 times Earth's volume.
• Takes about 12 Earth years to orbit around the Sun.
• There is no solid surface at all in Jupiter.

Saturn

• Second largest planet in the solar system.
• 755 times Earth's volume.
• Least dense planet in our solar system, less dense than water.
• Voyager 1 went to Saturn in 1980 and Voyager 2 came in 1981.
• Saturn's rings are made of water, ice and a little bit of dust.

Uranus

• Is tilted on it's side causing to roll along in it's orbit.
• 27 moons have been discovered around Uranus.
• The methane causes the cloud to be a blue-green color
• Named after the Greek god of the sky.

Neptune

• Named for the Greek god of the sea, because of it's blue appearance.
• The most distant planet in our solar system.
• Discovered in 1846, exactly where scientists predicted it be.
• Winds can reach up to 1,000 kilometers per hour.

Dwarf Planets

• Have not cleared smaller objects in it's orbit.
• Does not have as much mass or gravity as regular planets.
• Haumea is not completely spherical, it shaped more like an oval, and looks like an egg.

Comets

• Small, icy objects that have an eliptical path around the Sun.
• Their orbits carry them from the outer solar system to the inner solar system.
• Comet tails form as the comet flies close to the Sun and outer layers of ice melt and a glowing figure is formed.

Kuiper Belt

• Home to Pluto, Makemake, Haumea.
• Has ice objects made up of methane, nitrogen, ammonia and water.