astonomy

• The outer planets initially formed similarly to the terrestrial planets and were likely created through the accretion of planetesimals.
• All other bodies within our solar system also formed at the same time as the outer planets.
• The inner solar system was too close to the Sun for ice to form, but the outer solar system was far from the Sun's extreme temperatures, allowing for the formation of dust and ice particles.
• Gravitational forces caused pieces of matter immersed in gas to accrete, forming the giant planets of the outer solar system.
• The condensation temperature of materials that form rocks is significantly greater (1300-1600 K), meaning only substances with high condensation temperatures like the material in each planet's core (iron, silicon, magnesium, sulfur, aluminum, calcium, nickel) could have stayed solid.
• The condensation temperatures of substances like water, methane, and ammonia are low (100-300 K), meaning the solar system's cooler outer regions allowed ice specks and ice-coated dust to persist.
• Planetesimals play an integral part in the formation of the outer planets.
• Unlike the formation of terrestrial planetesimals, the abundance of hydrogen compounds, which condense into ice, is greater than the number of metals and rocks.
• The Core Accretion and Disk Instability theories are the two most plausible theories for forming the outer planets.
• Core Accretion Theory describes the creation of our planet and solar system.
• Core Accretion Theory illustrates how planets become multi-layered, from the inner terrestrial to the outer gaseous planets.
• Colder temperatures beyond Mars' orbit gave way to the availability of more significant amounts of solid material in the outer solar system.
• Slower movement of gas particles permitted the capturing of gases which continued to grow the planet by accretion.
• The increase in materials resulted in larger planets.
• It is likely that Uranus and Neptune were once much closer to the Sun during the early solar nebula for these two planets to be the size and distance they presently are.
• Disk Instability Theory explains how massive dust and gas clumped together to form giant planets.
• These planets can form faster as compared to the Core Accretion Theory.
• Outer planets formed directly from the unevenly distributed gas of the solar nebula.
• The gases were the original core of the planets, settling in the core with icy dust grains while attracting other gases by gravitation.
• Uranus and Neptune formed in their present-day orbits due to the ability to grow more quickly than in the Core Accretion Theory.
• Uranus and Neptune have a greater distance between them than any other two planets (10.86 AU).
• Gravitational interactions with Jupiter pushed these two planets into much further orbits.
• The material that makes up Uranus and Neptune would have been insufficient to create these giant planets at their present distance.
• The four largest planets in the solar system, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, orbit the Sun beyond the asteroid belt.
• Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, is a gas giant with no solid surface and a thick atmosphere composed mainly of hydrogen.
• The top layer of Jupiter's atmosphere is formed of layers of clouds stirred up by violent storms.
• The great red spot, an immense hurricane twenty thousand kilometers wide, has been blowing for more than 300 years on the surface of Jupiter.
• Jupiter has several dozen natural satellites, four of which were discovered in the 17th century.
• Callisto, one of Jupiter's natural satellites, has a rocky surface pitted with impact craters, making them the oldest rocks observed in the solar system so far.
• Ganymede, the largest satellite in the solar system, has a frozen surface, probably covering a rocky mantle.
• Europa, another satellite of Jupiter, has a relatively smooth surface scored with interlaced lines, probably ice covering a vast ocean.
• Io, a unique celestial body in the solar system, has a surface covered with volcanoes, many of which are active and spit out orange-colored gases.
• Saturn, the second largest planet in the solar system, is known for its gigantic rings, which are composed of a multiple of blocks of ice and rocks orbiting the planet.
• Saturn has many natural satellites, including Enceladus, Janus, Tethys, Mimas, and Titan, whose shadow is projected onto the planet.
• Saturn is a gas giant with no solid surface but features a thick envelope of hydrogen and helium.
• Uranus, the seventh planet in the solar system, was not known to the astronomers of antiquity and was not discovered until 1781.
• Uranus, a bluish colored planet, is composed mainly of rock, ice, and hydrogen.
• Uranus has a series of rings composed of dust and blocks of rock.
• Neptune, located more than 4.5 billion kilometers from the Sun, is one of the gas giants of the solar system, composed of rock, ice, and hydrogen.
• Neptune's atmosphere is very agitated, with winds reaching 2,000 kilometers per hour in the core of giant storms.