13 Chapter 13 – What’s it like on a Giant planet?
OpenStax Astronomy Chapter 11 (Giant Planets) & Chapter 12 (Rings)
Giant Planets
I. Planets
A. are giants
1. Primarily gas and liquid
2. : would float in water
B. are giants
1. Mostly
2. But contain more elements than gas giants, including and other (ammonia and methane)
3. More than gas giants
C. surfaces
1. compared to terrestrial planet
2. layer below atmosphere
3. Merges into denser
Which two giant planets have more water than the other two?
If a gas giant planet is more dense than Saturn, which of the following is probably true?
II.
A. giants rotate
1. They have : Jupiter – hours, Uranus – hours
2. Makes them :
a. Caused by conservation of trying to flatten sphere to disk
B. Each planet as a different : of its rotation to the
1. Jupiter’s tilt is – meaning
2. slightly greater tilt than Earth – distinct
3. : tilt – rolling on side, long seasons
Why are Jupiter and Saturn not perfectly spherical?
A. They formed from the collision of two large planetesimals
B. They rotate rapidly
C. They have storms that develop preferentially along their equators
D. Their axis of rotation is tilted
Atmospheres and Interiors
III. on
A. Clouds are primarily made of , are caused by chemical impurities
B. Strong dark and light (stripes) caused by alternating winds
C. : a long-lasting giant
1. , but may be shrinking
2. At least , discovered shortly after telescopes were invented
3. Varies in
4. Direction of rotation indicates pressure, of a hurricane
IV. Clouds on
A. clouds and structure like Jupiter
1. Different indicate different chemistry and
B. Individual clouds and than on Jupiter
C. Violent, storms
V. Clouds on
A. Bands are
B. Small isolated bright or clouds, mostly made of
C. large
1. on disappeared after about years
Uranus and Neptune do not have bands as distinct as those on Jupiter and Saturn, because Uranus and Neptune:
A. don’t have winds that change direction as much between equator to the poles
B. are composed entirely of hydrogen and helium and lack more complex molecules
C. are much closer to the Sun and much colder
D. rotate ten times slower
VI. Planet :
A. Mostly at very
1. Gases are so much become
2. between and “ocean” layer
B. At pressure and temperature in the planet, liquid hydrogen can act like a metal called
1. can move like in a metal
C. are likely very hot , water, and metals (refractory materials)
1. still even at high temperature because pressure is
VII. Interiors:
A. dense than and dense than
B. Hydrogen or Helium in lower layers below atmosphere
C. and , liquid metallic hydrogen
D. Deep ocean layers with dissolved
1. Low-density ices of
E. , formed from planetesimals
1. Planetesimals were in outer disk, took to form planet
Neptune and Uranus probably took longer to form than Jupiter and Saturn, because the disk was
at the distance of Neptune and Uranus.
A. rotating faster
B. not as dense
C. composed of rockier planetesimals
D. hotter
Planetary Rings
VIII. on the giant planets
A. Rings are composed
B. Ring particles may have come from that with an asteroid and then were torn apart by due to (breakup hypothesis)
C. OR: Ring particles may have been able to a moon in the first place due to the pull of
1. : from planet where moon can be or at all due to tidal forces
D. and on also contribute to rings
E. of rings influenced and maintained by gravity of
1. : moon’s gravity corrals ring particles into orbits
Saturn’s rings are located within the Roche limit. This supports the theory that the rings:
IX.
A. Composed of of : smaller rings that make up the system
B. depends on the in each ring
1. stuff = ring
2. What look like are
C. Rings are , but
1. Less than thick, but across
Which of the giant planets does NOT have rings?
X. of Rings
A. : bright because made of shiny particles
B. : rings from blackened organic material
1. Contain , like coal
2. Among objects in Solar System, probably blackened by from Sun
C. : composed of dark (sand/rocks)
Particles that make up the rings of Uranus and Neptune are composed of:
D. all of the above
Tutorial Activity – Giant Planets
“Elementary Astronomy Worksheet Handout 15: Jovian Planets, Rings”(modified by Kaisa E. Young) by Catherine Whiting via OER Commons, licensed under CC BY 4.0, https://oercommons.org/courses/elementary-astronomy-worksheets
similar to each other?
2. Jupiter is about 3.3 times more massive than Saturn. Why is it only about 20% bigger than Saturn?
3. What is the main difference between Jupiter/Saturn and Uranus/Neptune when it comes to their
interior composition?
4. (a) What is the Great Red Spot on Jupiter?
(c) Which of the Jovian planets have seasons? What property of the planets causes seasons?
5. (a) Are Saturn’s rings solid?
(b) What are the rings composed of?
8. What are the two hypotheses that explain how rings form?
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