The solar system is home to 9 planets and 5 of these are known as the outer planets(in colloquial terms) because of their distance from the sun. It is this distance that induces some very accelerated and exciting atmospheric conditions on them and the distance also means their surfaces are weird. For example, Jupiter has an area roughly the size of 3 Earths known as the 'Great Red Spot'. It is an area of unbelievably strong storms which seem to run forever. It would be interesting to imagine what would happen if a spacecraft were to plunge through it. Jupiter's other amazing quality is its number of moons. It has around 60 of them, with 4 of the largest being larger than Pluto. Jupiter also hosts the largest moon in the solar system, Ganymede. One of its famous moons, Europa, is paradoxically an ice ball. Its surface it mainly frozen water and has fascinated astronomers as it could be a possible habitable location for Earthlings. On the other hand, Ioa is another moon which represents an active volcano. These properties are amazing and are yet to be studied in greater detail.
Saturn
Saturn, on the other hand, is an object of pure beauty. Aesthetically pleasing, it has the largest, and most visible rings of any planet in the solar system. It's actually like a giant helium balloon. If Saturn were shrunk down to size, it could actually float on an ocean on Earth! Its atmosphere is made up of mostly helium and a little bit of hydrogen as well, which happen to be the 2 commonest gases in the known universe. Saturn also hosts the huge moon, Titan, the only heavenly body apart from the Earth that has a dense atmosphere and also has evidence of stable water bodies. These features make it a possible habitable location.
Uranus
Yes, we get the joke. Uranus is an odd body. It is tilted on its side due to perhaps an impact of a meteor or an asteroid. It has faint rings, much like Jupiter's. It has a characteristically bluish-green atmosphere made up of mainly methane. It was discovered by William Herschel. It has a number of moons as well, named after Shakespeare characters like Miranda and Oberon.
Neptune
My favorite planet is Neptune. It's a dark blue planet with and is unique for having the fastest winds in the solar system, reaching 1500km/hr. Like Jupiter, Neptune also has a 'blotch' on it called the Great Dark Spot, which is a region of extremely strong winds. However, this spot often disappears entirely from the face of the planet according to pictures by space probes. Neptune's biggest moon, Triton is unusual. It is slowly orbiting towards Neptune and is believed to crash into the planet one day.
Pluto(dwarf planet)
Often described as the 'lonely' planet', Pluto's status as a planet itself has been inconstant. Because of its size, it resembles a large asteroid. Pluto's orbit is also largely elliptical and for 20 years at a time, it it is actually closer to the Sun than Neptune. The most recent occurrence of this kind was from 1970 to 1990. Pluto's moon, Charon, is roughly half its size and the the binary system is curious, because the two bodies are more like sister planets orbiting one another.
Other interesting systems
-The Oort cloud: this is a 'cloud' located just outside the solar system. It is where comets are thought to originate.
- The Kuiper belt: this is a band of asteroids located just beyond Pluto(which is also why Pluto was thought to be one of them).
Saturn
Saturn, on the other hand, is an object of pure beauty. Aesthetically pleasing, it has the largest, and most visible rings of any planet in the solar system. It's actually like a giant helium balloon. If Saturn were shrunk down to size, it could actually float on an ocean on Earth! Its atmosphere is made up of mostly helium and a little bit of hydrogen as well, which happen to be the 2 commonest gases in the known universe. Saturn also hosts the huge moon, Titan, the only heavenly body apart from the Earth that has a dense atmosphere and also has evidence of stable water bodies. These features make it a possible habitable location.
Uranus
Yes, we get the joke. Uranus is an odd body. It is tilted on its side due to perhaps an impact of a meteor or an asteroid. It has faint rings, much like Jupiter's. It has a characteristically bluish-green atmosphere made up of mainly methane. It was discovered by William Herschel. It has a number of moons as well, named after Shakespeare characters like Miranda and Oberon.
Neptune
My favorite planet is Neptune. It's a dark blue planet with and is unique for having the fastest winds in the solar system, reaching 1500km/hr. Like Jupiter, Neptune also has a 'blotch' on it called the Great Dark Spot, which is a region of extremely strong winds. However, this spot often disappears entirely from the face of the planet according to pictures by space probes. Neptune's biggest moon, Triton is unusual. It is slowly orbiting towards Neptune and is believed to crash into the planet one day.
Pluto(dwarf planet)
Often described as the 'lonely' planet', Pluto's status as a planet itself has been inconstant. Because of its size, it resembles a large asteroid. Pluto's orbit is also largely elliptical and for 20 years at a time, it it is actually closer to the Sun than Neptune. The most recent occurrence of this kind was from 1970 to 1990. Pluto's moon, Charon, is roughly half its size and the the binary system is curious, because the two bodies are more like sister planets orbiting one another.
Other interesting systems
-The Oort cloud: this is a 'cloud' located just outside the solar system. It is where comets are thought to originate.
- The Kuiper belt: this is a band of asteroids located just beyond Pluto(which is also why Pluto was thought to be one of them).
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