The 5 outer planets are in this order from the sun: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Jupiter is the largest and most massive planet in the solar system. Jupiter is a gaseous planet that spins quickly, resulting in the bands of colors seen. Jupiter’s core is so hot that it produces the planet’s weather. Jupiter is also surrounded by a strong radiation belt that is composed of charged particles from the sun that have been trapped by Jupiter’s gravity. Jupiter’s atmosphere is made of hydrogen, helium, methane and ammonia. Jupiter also has 5 moons. It is located 778 million kilometers from the sun and its year is equal to 11.4 years on Earth. Saturn is the second largest planet with its famous rings. These rings are composed of rocks and ice. They are somewhat suspended as if in a solution and form a thickness of a few thousand feet. Saturn most likely consists of a dense, solid core, surrounded by gas, mostly hydrogen and helium. The atmosphere on Saturn is certainly not breathable and the strong winds throughout the atmosphere would kill virtually everything. Below the clouds and the atmosphere would be an ocean of liquid hydrogen many kilometers deep. Saturn has 22 moons and is 1.43 billion kilometers away from our sun. A year on Saturn is equal to 29.5 years on Earth. Uranus is the third largest planet in the solar system. The strange aspect about this planet is that it spins sideways on its axis. No one knows what the reason for this is, but there is a hypothesis that a large object may have
impacted the planet, knocking it into a different position. Uranus is mostly blue-green to the eye. This is due to the methane that is located high in the atmosphere of the planet. Below is a seemingly endless cloud of gas that becomes more and more thick until it turns into a liquid. Uranus is 2.9 billion kilometers away from the sun. The planet has over 20 moons and a year on it is equal to 84 years on Earth. Next in line is the planet called Neptune. This planet is the 4th largest and is very similar to Uranus. The atmosphere is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium with methane providing the blue coloring. Below the thick clouds there may be a solid core. The winds travel in Neptune at hundreds of kilometers per hour. Neptune has eight moons. It is located 4.5 billion kilometers from the sun and a year on the planet would equal 164 years on Earth. Pluto is the smallest and coldest planet. It is composed mainly of nitrogen ice and rock. Some do not even consider it as a planet due to its strange orbit and formation. Pluto has a thin atmosphere of methane and nitrogen. Pluto has 1 moon and is located 4.7-7.4 billion km from the sun. One year on Pluto would equal 248 years on Earth.