Outer Planets

The other planets not near the sun are called outer planets or giant planets. They are large balls of gases, which include Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Jupiter
Jupiter, which was named after the chief Roman god, is the largest of the outer planets and in the solar system as well. It has a diameter of approximately 142,984 km and is 779.41 million km away from the sun.

Jupiter rotates on its axis for approximately 9 hours and 55 minutes. Thus, a day on Jupiter is shorter than a day on Earth. Jupiter revolves around the sun in about 11.86 Earth years. This means that Earth has already revolved more than eleven times before Jupiter could finish one revolution.

Jupiter is covered with mostly hydrogen and helium clouds. Jupiter has the Great Red Spot. This red spot is a spinning storm, just like a strong typhoon or hurricane, that covers a diameter of about three times that of Earth. Spinning storms or strong winds blow across it.

Jupiter is surrounded by three faint rings made up mostly of dust particles. Jupiter has 62 known moons, and its four largest moons are called Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede. Ganymede is the biggest satellite of Jupiter and also the biggest among the satellites of all the planets in the solar system.