Interesting facts about the giant planets. Giant planets. Jupiter sucks up space debris

And are rocky planets or inner planets. The other four planets are , and . These planets are located in the outer solar system and are called gas giants. Since ancient times, they have interested and attracted people with their grandeur and many secrets. This article will talk about these monsters.

The structure of the planets

All giant planets are balls of gas, they consist mainly of helium and hydrogen. If you go down to one of the planets, you may never be able to reach its surface. They are so huge that even the “tiny” planet Uranus is 15 times larger than Earth. However, despite such dimensions, one of the planets is so light that it could float on water. This planet is Saturn.

Satellites

All gaseous planets have their own satellites. Jupiter has 67 moons, Saturn has 62 moons, Uranus has 27, and Neptune has only 14 moons. For comparison, the Earth has only one satellite - the well-known Moon. The satellites of giant planets are of particular interest to scientists, since some of them may support life.

Rings

Saturn is recognized by its luxurious rings. However, he is not the only one with rings. Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus also have several rings, but they have a different chemical composition, as a result of which they can only be seen with the help of special equipment. Additionally, only in the rings of Saturn has ice been discovered.

Rotation of planets

Just like the Earth, all gas monsters revolve around their star. However, around their own axis, the movement of gaseous planets looks a little different. This is due to the gaseous structure of the planets: the fastest rotation is observed at the equator, and slower movement is noticeable in the pole areas.

Jupiter

A giant monster who is called the King of all planets. The planet is named after the Roman god. Jupiter is so huge that if desired, it could contain all the planets solar system taken together. Its gravity is incredibly huge, which is why Jupiter attracts all the radiation from space. The Earth would have been attacked by meteorites long ago if Jupiter’s strong gravitational field had not attracted wandering asteroids. It is interesting that with such a gigantic size, Jupiter rotates at tremendous speed. If on Earth a day lasts 24 hours, then on Jupiter it is only 10 hours.

The group of giant planets consists of four planets of the solar system - Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Jupiter. Since these huge planets are much further away from the Sun than smaller planets, they have another name - the outer planets.

Can be distributed Interesting Facts about the giant planets in several categories. The first takes into account their structure and rotation. The second is devoted to phenomena observed in their atmospheres. The third notes the presence of rings on planets. The fourth describes the presence of satellites.

The structure of the giant planets and their rotation

Basically, giant planets are formed from a complex mixture of gases - ammonia, hydrogen, methane and helium. According to scientists, these planets have small stone or metal cores.

Due to the enormous mass of the object, the pressure in the bowels of the gas planet reaches millions of atmospheres. Its compression by gravity releases significant energy. As a result of this factor, the giant planets release more heat than is absorbed from solar radiation.

Having dimensions significantly larger than those of Earth, such gas planets complete their daily rotation in 9-17 hours. As for the average density of the giant planets, it is close to 1.4 g/cubic. cm - approximately equal to solar.

Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, has a mass exceeding total weight all other planets. This is probably why he was named after the main god of the Roman Pantheon. Scientists believe that it is the rapid rotation of Jupiter that explains the location of the clouds in its atmosphere - we observe them in the form of extended stripes.

Atmospheric phenomena

Among the interesting facts about the giant planets is the presence of powerful atmospheric shells, where processes that are extraordinary according to earthly concepts take place.

In the atmospheres of such planets, strong winds with speeds of over a thousand kilometers per hour are not uncommon.

Long-lived hurricane vortices are also observed there, for example, on Jupiter - the three-hundred-year-old Great Red Spot. A Great Dark Spot existed on Neptune for a long period, and anticyclone spots were observed on Saturn.

Rings and satellites of giant planets

The invisibility of Jupiter’s “frame” is explained by its narrowness and the small size of the dust particles in its composition.

The ring of Saturn is the most impressive in size - its diameter is 400 thousand kilometers, but the width of the ring is only a few tens of meters. The ring consists of pieces of ice and small rocks rotating around the planet. These parts are separated by several gaps, which form several different rings that encircle the planet.

Uranus' ring system is the second largest, and its "rim" has red, gray and blue colors. It contains pieces of water ice and very dark debris no more than a meter in diameter.

There are five subrings in Neptune's ring, presumably composed of ice particles.

Jupiter's satellite system includes almost 70 objects. One of them, Ganymede, is considered the largest satellite in the Solar System.

Researchers have discovered more than 60 satellites of Saturn, Neptune has 27 satellites, Neptune has 14, including Triton. The latter is notable for its retrograde orbit - the only one of all the large satellites of the Solar System.

This satellite, as well as two other satellites of the gas planets - Titan and Io, have atmospheres.

Jupiter

Jupiter, fifth from the Sun big planet Solar system, the largest of the giant planets.

Movement, size, shape

Jupiter moves around the Sun in a nearly circular elliptical orbit, the plane of which is inclined to the ecliptic plane at an angle of 1°18.3". The minimum distance of Jupiter from the Sun is 4.95 AU, the maximum is 5.45 AU, average - 5.2 AU (1 AU = 149.6 million km).

The equator is inclined to the orbital plane at an angle of 3°5"; due to the smallness of this angle, seasonal changes on Jupiter are very weakly expressed. Jupiter, moving around the Sun at an average speed of 13.06 km/s, makes one revolution in 11,862 Earth years The distance of Jupiter from the Earth varies from 188 to 967 million km. At opposition, Jupiter is visible as a slightly yellowish star -2.6 magnitude; of all the planets, it is second in brilliance only to Venus and Mars during the latter's great opposition.

Jupiter does not have a solid surface, therefore, speaking about its size, they indicate the radius of the upper boundary of the clouds, where the pressure is about 10 kPa; The radius of Jupiter at the equator is 71,400 km. In the atmosphere of Jupiter, layers or zones parallel to the plane of its equator are clearly visible, rotating around the axis of the planet with different angular velocities. The equatorial zone rotates the fastest - its rotation period is 9 hours 50 minutes 30 s, which is 5 minutes 11 s less than the rotation period of the polar zones. No other planet in the solar system rotates so quickly.

The mass of Jupiter is 1.899 * 10 27 kg, which is 317.8 times the mass of the Earth, but the average density is 1.33 g/cm 3, that is, 4 times less than that of the Earth. Acceleration free fall at the equator 23.5 m/s 2.

In the temperate southern latitudes of Jupiter, the oval Great Red Spot, whose transverse dimensions are 30-40 thousand km, slowly moves. In a hundred years it makes approximately 3 revolutions. The nature of this phenomenon is not completely clear.

The structure and composition of Jupiter

Like other giant planets, Jupiter differs significantly in chemical composition from the terrestrial planets. Hydrogen and helium are absolutely dominant here in the “solar” proportion of 3.4: 1, but in the center of the planet, according to existing models, there is a liquid core of molten metals and silicates, surrounded by a water-ammonia liquid shell. The radius of this core is about 1/10 of the radius of the planet, the mass is ~ 0.3-0.4 of its mass, the temperature is about 2500 K at a pressure of ~ 8000 GPa.

The heat flow from the depths of Jupiter is twice the energy it receives from the Sun. Due to the lack of a solid surface, Jupiter has no atmosphere as such. Its gas shell consists mainly of hydrogen and helium, but there is also a small admixture of methane, water molecules, ammonia, etc.

Physical and chemical parameters

Thunderstorms have been spotted in Jupiter's atmosphere. The presence of an ionosphere has also been established, the length of which in height is about 3000 km.

Jupiter has a magnetic field. Its magnetic dipole moment is almost 12,000 times greater than the dipole moment of the Earth, but since the magnetic field strength is inversely proportional to the cube of the radius, and Jupiter’s is two orders of magnitude greater than that of the Earth, the intensity at the surface of Jupiter is higher, compared to the Earth, only 5-6 times. The magnetic axis is inclined to the rotation axis by (10.2 ± 0.6)°. Dipole structure magnetic field dominates up to distances of the order of 15 planet radii. Jupiter has an extensive magnetosphere that is similar to Earth's but is about 100 times larger. There are radiation belts.

Moons of Jupiter

The first of the Galilean satellites, Io, is larger than the Moon. It has an atmosphere and ionosphere consisting mainly of sulfur and sodium ions. Its volcanic activity is very active (more than on Earth). The dimensions of volcanic craters reach hundreds of kilometers, exceeding those on Earth by tens and even hundreds of times, although the height of the volcanoes is comparatively small. Only in the polar regions of Io are there volcanoes about 10 km high. Sulfur emissions from volcanoes rise to a height of up to 250 km. According to a number of researchers, liquid sulfur may be located under the thin, hard surface crust of the satellite, covered with a layer of sulfur and its dioxide. The surface temperature of Io is about -120° C at the equator (except in volcanic areas) and another 50° lower at the poles. The relative scarcity of impact craters larger than 1-2 km allows us to consider the surface of Io to be relatively young (less than 1 million years).

However, not all of Jupiter's satellites have smooth surfaces. Thus, the density of craters in some areas of Callisto, which is smaller in size than Ganymede, is close to the maximum. In some areas, the edges of the craters close together. One of the reasons for this distribution of craters may be the fusibility of surface rocks (in particular, ice).

Jupiter ring

Jupiter has been established to have a huge flat ring of dust and small stones, which, with a width of 6 km and a thickness of 1 km, extends to tens of thousands of km from the upper boundary of the clouds.

The study of Jupiter and its satellites, which has already yielded many significantly new results, has also led to the formulation of a number of new problems. In particular, research concerning physical nature intense electric fields near the satellites closest to Jupiter.

Saturn

Saturn, the sixth from the Sun, the second largest planet in the solar system after Jupiter; belongs to the giant planets.

Movement, size, shape

Saturn's elliptical orbit has an eccentricity of 0.0556 and an average radius of 9.539 AU. e. (1427 million km). The maximum and minimum distances from the Sun are approximately 10 and 9 AU. e. Distances from the Earth vary from 1.2 to 1.6 billion km. The inclination of the planet's orbit to the ecliptic plane is 2°29.4". The angle between the planes of the equator and orbit reaches 26°44". Saturn moves in its orbit at an average speed of 2.64 km/s; The period of revolution around the Sun is 29.46 Earth years.

The planet does not have a solid surface; optical observations are hampered by the opacity of the atmosphere. For the equatorial and polar radii, the accepted values ​​are 60 thousand km and 53.5 thousand km. The average radius of Saturn is 9.1 times greater than that of Earth. In the earth's sky, Saturn looks like a yellowish star, the brightness of which varies from zero to first magnitude. The mass of Saturn is 5.68 10 26 kg, which is 95.1 times the mass of the Earth; Moreover, the average density of Saturn, equal to 0.68 g/cm3, is almost an order of magnitude less than the density of the Earth. The acceleration of gravity at the surface of Saturn at the equator is 9.06 m/s 2 . The surface of Saturn (cloud layer), like Jupiter, does not rotate as a single unit. Tropical regions in the atmosphere of Saturn rotate with a period of 10 hours 14 minutes of Earth time, and at moderate latitudes this period is 26 minutes longer.

Structure and composition

The temperature in the middle layers of the atmosphere (mostly hydrogen, although the presence of small amounts of helium, ammonia and methane is expected) is about 100 K.

In terms of its internal structure and composition, Saturn is very similar to Jupiter. In particular, on Saturn in the equatorial region there is a formation similar to the Great Red Spot, although it is smaller than on Jupiter.

Two-thirds of Saturn is made up of hydrogen. At a depth approximately equal to R/2, that is, half the radius of the planet, hydrogen at a pressure of about 300 GPa transforms into the metallic phase. As the depth further increases, starting from R/3, the proportion of hydrogen compounds and oxides increases. In the center of the planet (in the core region) the temperature is about 20,000 K.

Saturn's moons

All satellites, except for the huge Titan, which is larger than Mercury and has an atmosphere, are composed mainly of ice (with some admixture of rocks at Mimas, Dione and Rhea). Enceladus is unique in its brightness - it reflects light almost like freshly fallen snow. The darkest surface is Phoebe, which is therefore almost invisible. The surface of Iapetus is unusual: its front (in the direction of movement) hemisphere is very different in reflectivity from the rear.

Of all the large satellites of Saturn, only Hyperion has an irregular shape, perhaps due to a collision with a massive body, such as a giant icy meteorite. The surface of Hyperion is heavily polluted. The surfaces of many satellites are heavily cratered. Thus, the largest ten-kilometer crater was discovered on the surface of Dione; On the surface of Mimas lies a crater, the shaft of which is so high that it is clearly visible even in photographs. In addition to craters, on the surfaces of a number of satellites there are faults, grooves, and depressions. The greatest tectonic and volcanic activity was found near Enceladus.

Ring of Saturn

Uranus

URANUS (astronomical sign I), planet, average distance from the Sun - 19.18 AU. e. (2871 million km), orbital period 84 years, rotation period approx. 17 hours, equatorial diameter 51,200 km, mass 8.7 10 25 kg, atmospheric composition: H 2, He, CH 4. Uranus' rotation axis is tilted at an angle of 98°. Uranus has 15 satellites (5 discovered from Earth - Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, and 10 discovered spacecraft Voyager 2 - Cordelia, Ophelia, Bianca, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Belinda, Peck) and the ring system.

Movement, dimensions, mass

Uranus moves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit, the semimajor axis of which (the average heliocentric distance) is 19.182 times greater than that of the Earth, and amounts to 2871 million km. The orbital eccentricity is 0.047, which means the orbit is quite close to circular. The orbital plane is inclined to the ecliptic at an angle of 0.8°. Uranus completes one revolution around the Sun in 84.01 Earth years. The period of Uranus's own rotation is approximately 17 hours. The existing scatter in determining the values ​​of this period is due to several reasons, of which two are main: the gas surface of the planet does not rotate as a single whole and, in addition, no noticeable local inhomogeneities were found on the surface of Uranus that would help clarify the length of the day on the planet.

Composition and internal structure

Like the other giant planets, Uranus's atmosphere is primarily composed of hydrogen, helium, and methane, although their relative contributions are somewhat lower compared to Jupiter and Saturn.

The theoretical model of the structure of Uranus is as follows: its surface layer It is a gas-liquid shell, under which there is an ice (a mixture of water and ammonia ice) mantle, and even deeper - a core of solid rock. The mass of the mantle and core makes up approximately 85-90% of the total mass of Uranus. The solid matter zone extends to 3/4 of the planet's radius

The temperature in the center of Uranus is close to 10,000 K at a pressure of 7-8 million atmospheres (one atmosphere approximately corresponds to one bar). At the core boundary the pressure is approximately two orders of magnitude lower (about 100 kilobars). The effective temperature, determined from thermal radiation from the planet's surface, is ca. 55 K.

Moons of Uranus

History of the discovery of Uranus

For many centuries, astronomers on Earth knew only five “wandering stars” - planets. 1781 was marked by the discovery of another planet, named Uranus. This happened when the English astronomer W. Herschel began implementing a grandiose program: compiling a complete systematic survey of the starry sky. On March 13, near one of the stars in the constellation Gemini, Herschel noticed a curious object that was clearly not a star: it visible dimensions changed depending on the magnification of the telescope, and most importantly, its position in the sky changed. Herschel initially decided that he had discovered a new comet (his report at a meeting of the Royal Society on April 26, 1781 was called “Report on a Comet”), but the comet hypothesis soon had to be abandoned. In gratitude to George III, who appointed Herschel as Astronomer Royal, the latter proposed to name the planet “St. George’s Star”, however, in order not to violate the traditional connection with mythology, the name “Uranus” was adopted. The first few observations did not yet make it possible to accurately determine the parameters of the orbit of the new planet, but, firstly, the number of these observations (in particular, in Russia, France and Germany) quickly increased, and secondly, a careful study of catalogs of past observations made it possible to verify that the planet had been repeatedly recorded before, but was mistaken for a star, which also significantly increased the number of data.

During the 30 years after the discovery of Uranus, the intensity of interest in it periodically fell, but only for a while. The fact is that increasing the accuracy of observations revealed mysterious anomalies in the movement of the planet: it either “laged behind” the calculated one, or began to “lead” it. The theoretical explanation of these anomalies led to new discoveries - the discovery of post-uranium planets.

Neptune

Neptune, the eighth major planet from the Sun in the Solar System, belongs to the giant planets.

Movement and parameters of the planet

Neptune moves around the Sun in an elliptical, close to circular (eccentricity - 0.009) orbit; its average distance from the Sun is 30.058 times greater than that of the Earth, which is approximately 4500 million km. This means that light from the Sun reaches Neptune in a little over 4 hours. The length of a year, that is, the time of one complete revolution around the Sun, is 164.8 Earth years. The equatorial radius of the planet is 24,750 km, which is almost four times the radius of the Earth, and its own rotation is so fast that a day on Neptune lasts only 17.8 hours. Although Neptune's average density of 1.67 g/cm 3 is almost three times less than that of Earth, its mass, due to the large size of the planet, is 17.2 times greater than that of Earth. Neptune appears in the sky as a 7.8 magnitude star (invisible to the naked eye); at high magnification it looks like a greenish disk, devoid of any details. Neptune has a magnetic field whose strength at the poles is approximately twice that of Earth.

Composition and internal structure

Of all the elements on Neptune, hydrogen and helium predominate in approximately the same ratio as on the Sun: there are about 20 hydrogen atoms per helium atom. In the unbound state, there is much less hydrogen on Neptune than on Jupiter and Saturn. Other elements are also present, mostly light. On Neptune, as on other giant planets, multilayer differentiation of matter occurred, during which an extended ice shell was formed, like on Uranus. According to theoretical estimates, there is both a mantle and a core. According to calculated models, the mass of the core together with the ice shell can reach 90% of the total mass of the planet.

Moons of Neptune

History of discovery

After W. Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781 and calculated the parameters of its orbit, mysterious anomalies in the motion of this planet were soon discovered - it either “laged” behind the calculated one or was ahead of it.

In 1832, in a report by the British Association for the Advancement of Science, J. Erie, who later became the Royal Astronomer, noted that in 11 years the error in the position of Uranus had reached almost half a minute of arc. Shortly after the report was published, Airey received a letter from the British amateur astronomer, the Reverend Dr. Hassay, which suggested that these anomalies were due to the influence of an as yet undiscovered “suburanian” planet. Apparently this was the first proposal to look for a “disturbing” planet. Eri did not approve of Hassey's idea, and the search was not started.

And the year before, the talented young student J. C. Adams noted in his notes: “At the beginning of this week the idea arose to begin, immediately after receiving my degree, the study of anomalies in the motion of Uranus, which have not yet been explained. It is necessary to find out whether they can be caused by the influence of an undiscovered planet located behind it and, if possible, to determine at least approximately the elements of its orbit, which can lead to its discovery.”

Adams was able to begin solving this problem only two years later, and by October 1843 preliminary calculations were completed. Adams decided to show them to Erie, but he was unable to meet with the royal astronomer. Adams could only return to Cambridge, leaving the results of his calculations for Erie. For unknown reasons, Erie reacted negatively to Adams' work, the price of which was the loss of England's priority in the discovery of a new planet.

Independently of Adams, W. J. Le Verrier worked on the problem of a post-uranium planet in France. On November 10, 1845, he presented the French Academy of Sciences with the results of his theoretical analysis of the motion of Uranus, concluding with the discrepancy between observational and calculated data: “This can be explained by the influence of an external factor, which I will evaluate in the second treatise.”

Such estimates were made in the first half of 1846. The success of the case was helped by the assumption that the desired planet was moving, in accordance with the empirical rule of Titius Bode, in an orbit whose radius was equal to three times the radius of the orbit of Uranus, and that the orbit had a very small inclination to the ecliptic plane. Le Verrier gave instructions on where to look new planet. Having received Le Verrier's second treatise, Erie drew attention to the very close coincidence of the results of Adams's and Le Verrier's studies relating to the motion of the supposed planet disturbing the motion of Uranus, and even emphasized this at a special meeting of the Greenwich Board of Surveyors. But, as before, he was in no hurry to start searching and began to bother about them only in July 1846, realizing what indignation his passivity could subsequently cause.

Meanwhile, Le Verrier completed another study on August 31, 1846, in which the final system of orbital elements of the desired planet was obtained and its place in the sky was indicated. But in France, as in England, astronomers still did not begin the search, and on September 18, Le Verrier turned to I. Galle, an assistant at the Berlin Observatory, who, having received permission from the director of the observatory, began the search on September 23, together with the student D'Arre. That evening the planet was discovered, it was only 52" from the expected location.

The news of the discovery of a planet “at the tip of a pen,” which was one of the brightest triumphs of celestial mechanics, soon spread throughout scientific world. According to established tradition, the planet was named Neptune in honor of the ancient god.

For about a year, there was a struggle between France and England for the priority of discovery, to which, as often happens, the heroes themselves had no direct connection. In particular, a complete understanding was established between Adams and Le Verrier, and they remained friends until the end of their lives.

The solar system has 9 planets. Recently, one of them, Pluto, was excluded from the list of planets by the International Astronomical Society and called a dwarf planet. But it has satellites, southern and north pole, atmosphere and is the largest space object in the Kuiper Belt, so it can still be considered a full-fledged planet. We present interesting facts about the planets of the solar system.

Mercury

The closest planet to the Sun is Mercury. There is a theory that this space object was once a satellite of Venus, but due to some kind of cosmic cataclysm it became an independent planet.

A year lasts 88 days, a day is slightly less, 59 days. It is the fastest planet, moving around the Sun at a speed of almost 50 kilometers per second.

The side facing the Sun is heated to a temperature of plus 430 degrees Celsius, the reverse side is cooled to about 180 degrees Celsius. Despite high temperature, there is ice on Mercury, which astronomers discovered at the north pole. The ice is hidden in shaded places where the sun's rays do not reach; it may have been brought by comets that fell on the surface of Mercury.

On this planet, the Sun moves in the opposite direction, since the planet moves around its axis at a lower speed than it moves in orbit.

You can observe two sunsets and sunrises per day, and three sunsets and sunrises on meridians 0 and 180.

Venus

It looks like the brightest star in the sky, but it is only visible for a short time in the evening, which is why Venus is also called the “Evening Star”.

A year lasts 225 Earth days, a day lasts 243 days.

The planet has an atmosphere that consists of carbon dioxide, there are clouds of chlorine, sulfur, and sulfuric acid in the air. Since the atmosphere retains heat, the surface is very hot, this is the hottest planet in the solar system. The surface temperature is higher than on Mercury, despite the fact that Venus is further from the Sun. But, despite the high temperature, it is possible that some types of bacteria that live on Earth in extreme conditions, for example in hot springs, will be able to take root on the surface.

Earth

Interesting facts about the planets continue with the Earth, which is the only inhabited planet in the solar system, and possibly in the entire cosmos.

In orbit, our planet moves at a speed of more than 100 thousand kilometers per hour. Moreover, the Earth flies through clouds of cosmic dust, it is attacked by large space objects, but most of them burn up in a dense atmosphere. And only a few fall to the surface in the form of meteorites. Sometimes meteorites are very large, perhaps the Gulf of Mexico was formed due to the fall of one of them.

In different places of the Earth the force of gravity is different - in the south of India the gravity is high, and in the southern part Pacific Ocean- low. In 2002, NASA launched satellites that were supposed to measure the gravity of the earth in different parts, perhaps the reason for the different forces of gravity of the Earth in different places on our planet will soon be found out.

The Earth has a satellite - the Moon. Our satellite is quite large, its diameter is one and a half times larger than the smallest planet in the Solar System - Pluto. The surface of the Moon is covered with craters; they were formed from the falls of meteorites, which do not burn up in the atmosphere, since the Moon does not have an atmosphere.

From 1969 to 1972, there were 6 US expeditions to the Moon, during which 12 people visited the surface of the Earth’s satellite.

After Earth in the solar system comes Mars. It has two satellites. The planet is called red, it really has a red color due to iron oxide, which is abundant in the soil.

Here there is the highest mountain in the solar system - Olympus, its height is 27 kilometers, diameter is 550 kilometers.

The day is the same as on Earth - 24 hours. A year is twice as long - 668 days. This planet is very similar to Earth, the seasons change here. There is a thin atmosphere, perhaps there is water. Here are the most optimal conditions for the development of primitive life forms, such as bacteria, which can be transferred from Earth. But whether they will take root here is unknown.

The possibility of a manned expedition to Mars is currently being developed. But the level of modern space technology is such that flight is only possible in one direction. You will need to settle down on the planet and spend the rest of your life. Strangely enough, there are those who want to take part in this difficult and tragic event.

Jupiter

The most major planet Solar system. It has 5 rings, which consist of cosmic dust, as well as more than six dozen satellites. This cosmic giant is more than three hundred times heavier than the Earth, the radius of Jupiter is 11 times the Earth's radius, inside this big planet several thousand balls the size of our Earth can fit.

Jupiter is 2.5 times heavier than all the other planets in the solar system taken together. The planet has very strong gravity, it attracts many space objects that fly near it in space. Thanks to Jupiter, many comets, asteroids and smaller space objects do not reach the Earth, but land on the surface of this cosmic giant. In 1994, scientists around the world observed the fall of Comet Shoemaker-Levy onto the surface of Jupiter.

Despite the fact that this space object is very large, it moves very quickly - a revolution around its own axis occurs in 10 hours, and it moves around the Sun in 12 Earth years.

The planet has more than 60 satellites, of which Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede were discovered by Galileo Galilei. Europa is believed to have water under a thick layer of ice. There may also be water on the surface of Ganymede and Callisto.

The planet has a Great Red Spot - a vortex that moves across the planet at a speed of more than 400 kilometers per hour. Hurricanes constantly rage on Jupiter, accompanied by lightning flashes.

The planet can be seen from Earth with the naked eye. The rings of Saturn are clearly visible through a telescope. They consist of cosmic dust and ice. Compared to the size of the planet, they are quite thin - their thickness ranges from 10 meters to 1 kilometer. The width of the rings is from 3 thousand to 300 thousand kilometers. The planet has more than six dozen satellites, one of them larger than the planet Mercury.

The planet rotates very quickly around its axis, so it is compressed at the poles and expanded at the equator.

A day lasts 10 Earth hours; the planet flies around the Sun in 30 Earth years, which is how long a “Saturnian” year lasts.

Uranus

The axis of Uranus is deviated from the axis of other planets by 98 degrees; why the planet moves this way is unknown, but perhaps the deviation occurred from a collision with some kind of space object.

The lowest temperature recorded here is minus 224 degrees Celsius.

Uranus has 13 rings.

The planet largely consists of a mixture of gases; a gas shell extends over approximately 8 thousand kilometers (this is a third of the radius).

Interesting facts about the solar system continue with the planet Neptune, which was discovered “theoretically” by mathematicians Adams and Le Verrier - scientists, studying the movement of celestial bodies, came to the conclusion that there should be another planet in space. The planet was visually seen in 1846 by astronomer I.G. Galle.

Neptune is surrounded by 6 rings. The rings are dark, but the planet has a beautiful turquoise color, which is given to it by methane; the atmosphere is made up of this gas. Among the giant planets, Neptune has the highest surface density. But gravity is only 17 percent greater than Earth's. It would seem that you can fly to Neptune and study the surface, but you won’t be able to land on the planet, since the surface is not dense, but gaseous, and the gases that make up the planet, under the influence of low temperatures, become a liquid that can have a viscous consistency.

The planet is located 30 times further from the Sun than Earth. The wind, consisting of gases, reaches a speed of 2000 kilometers per hour. These winds are not only strong, but also cold; atmospheric temperatures can reach minus 221 degrees Celsius.

Neptune orbits the Sun every 164 years, so since its discovery in 1846, the planet has orbited the Sun only once. A day lasts 16 hours.

There are two satellites orbiting the planet.

The northern lights can be observed at the planet's poles.

Pluto is the 9th and final planet. Now this space object is not considered a planet; it is classified as a dwarf planet, which also includes asteroids. In 2006, Pluto was named “asteroid 134340.”

The orbit of the planet was predicted by Percival Lowell at the beginning of the 20th century (therefore, one of the options for the name of the planet was Percival); it was seen through a telescope in 1930 by K. Tombaugh.

The planet's mass is six times smaller than the Moon, but, despite its small size, it has four satellites - Charon, Hydra, Nyx, P1.

At first the name Planet X was invented, but a competition was announced, in which a schoolgirl from Oxford won, she proposed the name Pluto, for which she received 5 pounds sterling.

This space object belongs to the Kuiper belt - numerous asteroids that orbit the Sun. Astronomers have identified four dwarf planets in this belt - Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris. Pluto is the largest among them.

The first spacecraft to fly close to Pluto was the American New Horizons spacecraft. In 2015, he approached this block of rocks and ice at a distance of just over 12 thousand kilometers and took pictures of the surface.

The planet moves slowly, completing a revolution around the Sun in 248 Earth years. Due to the slow movement, the location in the starry sky is difficult to determine; you need to compare the placement with star charts. Venus, for example, can be easily identified not only by its large size, but also by its rapid movement relative to the stars. It is impossible to see Pluto without a telescope, even if it is as close as possible to the Earth, and now it is only moving away from the Sun, the maximum distance will occur in 2113.

There is an atmosphere that consists of carbon monoxide, nitrogen and methane. No other dwarf planet has an atmosphere. There are also two poles - north and south. These characteristics indicate that this is a full-fledged planet, despite the fact that the astronomical society has demoted it to a dwarf planet.

The satellite Charon is only half the size of Pluto, so the planet is sometimes called a double planet, since the difference in masses is insignificant, and Charon, with its mass, slightly affects the behavior of Pluto.

It is the coldest planet with an average temperature of 229 degrees below zero Celsius.

Weight is 416 times less than the weight of our planet. The force of gravity is 16 times less than that of Earth.

A day lasts almost 7 days, the planet rotates in a different direction than the earth, so the sun rises in the west and sunset in the east. The sun is so far away it looks like a star sunlight so little that you can watch the starry sky around the clock.

It is believed that behind the Kuiper cloud there is also an Oort cloud - a collection of cosmic dust from which comets arrive that have a long period of orbit around the Sun. The edge of this cloud is believed to be located one light year from the Sun. The nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is four light years away. Interesting facts about the planets of the Solar System can still be studied for a long time, since new information will always appear about space objects that surround the Sun.

In our solar system today, scientists count eight planets. Scientists identify the four planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune as a separate group of “gas giants”; together they make up 99% of the mass of matter that is in orbits belonging to the Sun. The article presents the most interesting facts about the giant planets.

1. The hallmark of Jupiter is the stripes on its surface., there are several theories about their origin. One theory states that the stripes appeared as a result of convection; this process involves heating and rising of some layers of the atmosphere, cooling and falling of others.
2. The Great Red Spot, located on Jupiter, an atmospheric phenomenon similar to a storm, was discovered back in the 17th century. Lightning discharges have been discovered on the planet that are three times more powerful than those on Earth. The speed of wind gusts exceeds 600 km/h, and their formation is due to the release of heat from the bowels of the gas giant.
3. Astronomers now know about the existence of 67 satellites of the planet Jupiter. The largest - Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto were discovered in the 17th century by Galileo Galilei.
4. If the name of Jupiter's satellite ends in "e", for example, Karma, Pasipha, this means that they neither rotate in the opposite side relative to the axial rotation of the gas giant.
5. Jupiter has the highest rotation speed around its axis in the solar system, the planet makes a full revolution in 9 hours 50 minutes. There is no change of seasons on Jupiter, this is due to the slight tilt of the axis around which the “giant” rotates, just over 3 degrees; for comparison, the Earth has 23.5.
6. At the north pole of Saturn there is a hexagon formed by clouds, and its shape tends to be correct, the reasons for its occurrence are unknown. At both poles, scientists have discovered northern lights oval and spiral shapes.
7. To make a full revolution around the Sun, Saturn takes almost 30 Earth years, but the change of day and night occurs only ~10 times during this time. Different parts of this gas giant rotate at different speeds, “zone 1” has a rotation interval of 10 hours 14 minutes, “zone 2” - 10 hours, 34 minutes, “zone 3” - 10 hours 39 minutes.
8. Of the entire group of giant planets, Saturn has the most noticeable rings; they consist of ice particles. The rings of Saturn are very thin, less than 1 kilometer, in 1921 the whole world decided that the rings had disappeared, this happened because the rings became at a certain angle and the instruments of that time did not allow them to be seen.
9. Uranus was discovered in 1781 by astronomer William Herschel and became the first planet discovered in modern world. Initially, this Gas giant was mistaken for a star, and later for a comet. The planet's first name was "George", in honor of George III, who ruled England at the time of its discovery.
10. The atmosphere is 98% hydrogen and helium, but unlike the other two giant planets, Uranus and Neptune contain large amounts of ice in their depths. Atmospheric phenomena on Uranus are extremely insignificant, this is due to the low temperatures on the planet; it is the coldest planet in our solar system.
11. Uranus' rotation axis is offset at an angle of almost 98 degrees relative to its rotation around the Sun, as a result of which different parts alternately face the Sun. Day and night alternate at the poles every 42 Earth years.
12. Uranus became the second planet to have a ring system discovered. Scientists are inclined to believe that the rings did not form together with Uranus, but later, during the destruction of some of its satellites. There are 13 rings, the inner rings are gray, the middle ones are red, and the two outer ones are blue.
13. In terms of the composition of its atmosphere and body, Neptune is most similar to Uranus, but its blue color is given by the significant methane content in the atmosphere. Scientists suggest that this planet has the fastest winds in the entire solar system, up to 2100 km/h. The estimated temperature on the surface is -220 degrees, and in the interior of the planet 7000–7100.
14. From Earth, Neptune can only be observed once during its year(on opening day September 26, 1846, later in 2011). In 2011, exactly a year has passed on Neptune since its discovery; it was 164.79 Earth years.
15. Neptune's largest moon, Triton, orbits the planet in the opposite direction of its rotation. Triton moves in a spiral and will be destroyed in about 10 million years after passing the Roche limit.

The solar system consists of eight planets, of which four belong to the terrestrial group and four belong to the category of gas giants. The difference between these two categories can be seen literally in everything. This is the size, composition, movement, and atmosphere. Below we have collected the most that will be a real discovery for many. Well, those who already know a lot about astronomy will be able to replenish their stock of knowledge.

What objects are included in this group

First, let's look at the system and where exactly our gas giants are located within its boundaries. The Sun is in the center and the four terrestrial planets revolve around it. These are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Following them is the asteroid belt, which seems to separate these two categories. The next four planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Below we will present numerous facts about the giant planets that will help us distinguish them from the celestial bodies of the terrestrial group. Most astronomers also classify Pluto as a planet, the most distant SS. However, it is more reminiscent of Mercury than Jupiter or Neptune, both in its structure and parameters.

Size is the most important criterion for assessing a planet

Based on the fact that we are listing facts about the giant planets here, it is easy to guess that the parameters of these celestial bodies are indeed very large. The most large object From this group is Jupiter, followed by Saturn, Uranus and after Neptune. In a word, they seemed to be arranged in descending order relative to the Sun. So, what are the exact parameters? It is equal to 142,800 km, while in the region of the equator the planet is constantly “growing” due to the fact that it rotates very quickly around its axis. Saturn has a diameter of 120,000 km. The same indicators are for Uranus and Neptune - 51,800 km and 48,600 km, respectively. For comparison, we suggest considering the diameter of the Earth, the largest terrestrial planet. It is equal to 12,756 km, which is tens of times less than that of the giants.

Chemical composition and mass

It would seem that 2 facts about the giant planets, which should not be related to each other, are actually one whole. So, four pieces, as chosen, consist of hydrogen and helium. It should be borne in mind that these gases are the basis of every planet. There is no surface on them, no solid rocks, craters from meteorites, glaciers and water. Giant planets are therefore called gas planets, since they represent an accumulation of a given physical element due to gravitational forces. Its density there is higher than in outer space, and due to this, the gas transforms into a planet, acquiring rounded outlines. Of course, helium and hydrogen are not the only gases that are present on the giants. But they are the foundation to which all others rest. chemical elements. For example, on Jupiter, molecules of methane, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen and even oxygen are found in the upper ones. Ammonia, ethane, and phosphine can be found in the structure of Saturn. Uranus appears greenish due to the large amount of methane present in the upper atmosphere. And Neptune is supplemented with ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, which, when mixed with the same methane, makes it blue. Now about the mass. The most amazing facts about the giant planets are that they don't weigh that much. On average, the mass of Uranus is approximately 3 Earth masses. The low weight of the planets is ensured by their composition, because if they had a solid surface, water and rocks, they would weigh incredibly much.

The splendor of the rings

The world's first facts about giant planets, which were discovered back in the 17th and 18th centuries, testified to the presence of so-called rings that surround each such planet. heavenly body. Such rings are formed due to the fact that many moons revolve around the planet. In this zone, a special type of gravity is formed, the chemical composition changes slightly (compared to the general environment of space). Due to this, the rings become visible to us, earthly observers. The most striking owner of this astronomical splendor is Saturn. Its rings are visible through an amateur telescope. Neptune is second in the ranking of ring visibility. Jupiter and Uranus are also surrounded by similar “fields,” but they can only be seen with the help of very powerful technology.

Satellites you can't count

Now let's look at some interesting facts about the planets of the solar system, which are still incomprehensible to astronomers. We are talking about the satellites that surround the planets and their number. The fact is that all objects of the terrestrial group have a very small number of moons or no moons at all. Mercury and Venus have no satellites. The Earth is equipped with only one - the Moon, and Mars is equipped with two - Demos and Phobos. But gas giants simply abound with moons. Jupiter wins everyone in terms of number - it has as many as 67 satellites (perhaps there are more, they just have not been discovered yet). It is important to note that some of them are analogues of the Earth. There is water and oxygen there, so the origin of life is likely. Saturn has a total of 62 moons that orbit within its magnificent rings. Uranus is surrounded by 27 moons, and Neptune - 14. But Pluto has a situation comparable to the terrestrial planets. He has only one satellite - Charon, who is the same as himself, hard, cold and very mysterious.

Other facts about the planets

List amazing facts is coming to an end, so we decided to summarize with brief data that concerns the entire SS. So:

• The mass of the Sun is 99.86% of the total weight of the Solar System. The remainder falls on the planets.
• The most powerful is Jupiter. Its radiation constantly enriches the Earth with electricity.
• On some planets, a day lasts longer than a year.
• There is a hypothesis that Neptune's core consists of rocks. If its icy clouds ever melt, it could gain an atmosphere and become a habitable planet.