Outer Planets orbiting our Sun

Planets are also one of the three fundamental types of astronomical bodies, along with stars and galaxies.

The sun is a star. It is the largest object in our solar system. The sun is huge! It has a mass of about 333,000 Earths. It is so big that it could fit about one million Earths inside of it. The sun is also very hot. The surface of the sun has a temperature of about 6000 degrees Celsius. That is about twice as hot as the hottest oven that you can buy.

The sun gives off light and heat. We need both light and heat to live on Earth. Light from the sun helps us see things during the day. The heat from the sun keeps us warm at night. without the sun, Earth would be a very cold place.

The sun is huge and gives off light and heat, but it is just one of many stars in the universe. There are billions of stars out there.

Outer Planets

Outer planets are those planets that orbit beyond the asteroid belt. The four outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

These planets are much larger than the inner planets. They are also made of different materials. The inner planets are made mostly of rock and metal. The outer planets are made mostly of gas and ice.

The outer planets are much farther from the sun than the inner planets. They take longer to orbit the sun. Jupiter takes about 12 years to orbit the sun. Saturn takes about 29 years to orbit the sun. Uranus takes about 84 years to orbit the sun. Neptune takes about 165 years to orbit the sun.

The outer planets have many moons orbiting them. Jupiter has over 60 moons! Saturn has over 50 moons. Uranus has 27 moons. Neptune has 14 moons.

The outer planets also have rings around them. Saturn is famous for its rings. Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune also have rings, but they are not as easy to see.

Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. It is two and a half times the size of all the other planets combined. Jupiter is so large that it could fit one thousand earths within it.

Jupiter is mostly made up of gas and has no solid surface. The planet has a very dense core made of rock and metal. Surrounding the core is a layer of liquid hydrogen and helium. Above that are layers of clouds made up of ammonia, water vapor, and dust particles.

The temperature on Jupiter varies depending on where you measure it. The temperatures range from -145 degrees Celsius at the cloud tops to -184 degrees Celsius at the center of the planet.

Jupiter has fifty-three moons orbiting around it. The largest moon is called Ganymede and is bigger than Mercury. Jupiter also has a faint ring system made up of dust particles.

Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System. Astronomers sometimes place them in a separate category called “ice giant”. Uranus’s atmosphere is similar to Jupiter’s and Saturn’s in that it is composed mostly of hydrogen and helium, with a small amount of methane. The interior of Uranus is mainly composed of ice and rock.

The temperature around this planet is also pretty cold, averaging at around -216 degrees Celsius. However, despite the freezing temperatures, Uranus has a lot to offer. One of the most intriguing things about this planet is its unique set of rings. These rings are composed of extremely dark particles and are believed to be formed by collisions between moons and asteroids.

Uranus is an excellent planet for observing planetary eclipses. When the Sun, Earth, and Uranus align just right, we here on Earth can see the shadow of Uranus cast on the face of the Sun. This event is called a transit, and it only happens every 42 years! The next one will occur in 2033. 

Neptune

Neptune is another large gas planet in our solar system, and it’s the smallest of the four. Neptune is also the farthest from the sun, and it has the coldest temperatures of all the planets. Neptune has a very thin atmosphere, and it’s mostly made up of hydrogen and helium. Neptune has six rings around it, and its largest moon is Triton.

The temperature of this planet can get as low as -360 degrees Fahrenheit, and the pressure is very high. The atmosphere of Neptune is made up of hydrogen, helium, and methane. The planet has a rocky core, and its surface is covered in ice. There are also storms on Neptune that can last for years.

Neptune was discovered in 1846 by Johann Galle, and it’s the eighth planet from the sun. It’s named after the Roman god of the sea. Neptune is about four times the size of Earth, and it has a mass that’s 17 times greater than our planet. Neptune orbits the sun every 164 years, and it has an average distance from the sun of about 30 AU.

Conclusion 

Planets are very fascinating. They are huge balls of gas and dust that orbit around a star. There are eight planets in our solar system. The four inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The four outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. These planets are also called the gas giants.