In my last blog, I explained the inner four planets of the Solar System in simple words. In this blog, I will explain about the Gas Giants of the Solar System in simple words so that people with very little or no knowledge about the universe can understand.
The first planet I’ll talk about is simply everyone’s favorite and is frequently called the jewel of the Solar System since it is so elegant and attractive. It is the one and only, Saturn. Saturn was named after the Roman God of agriculture because an ancient myth stated that Saturn introduced agriculture to his people by teaching them how to farm the land. Another fun fact about Saturn is that the day, Saturday is named after Saturn and it means Saturn's day.
This planet belongs to a type of planets that are called Gas Giants which simply suggests that they are made mostly of Gas. Saturn is made up of 94% Hydrogen and 6% Helium and small amounts of methane and ammonia. This planet is the second largest in the Solar System and is famous for its rings. This planet got its rings due to the comets and asteroids that reached its Roche limit and broke into pieces due to the immense gravitational force exerted by this giant beast. If you're wondering what Roche limit is; it is the limit in the orbit of a planet where objects will shatter into pieces due to the immense gravitational field exerted by the planet. Believe it or not, Saturn has 62 confirmed orbiting Moons. That is just mind-boggling but wait till you see the real big fella after this. Moreover, Saturn has very disturbing surface activity. It has very strong winds and lightning in its clouds. If Earth faces a storm like the ones Saturn, no standing structure would survive. Besides, there is also perfect hexagon made up of clouds on the North pole of Saturn (You can see it in the picture if you look deeply). Furthermore, this planet has a moon called Titan which is its biggest one. According to my opinion and study, Titan may be the best place for finding life in the Solar System due to its extremely close characteristics that are needed to sustain life. I will explain why in one of my next blogs but for now, let’s move on to the real beast of the Solar System.
The next planet I’ll talk about is Jupiter. It was named after the King of the Roman gods. This planet is the largest in all of the Solar systems and is also a gas giant like Saturn consisting of 90% Hydrogen, 10% Helium and small amounts of compounds like ammonia, sulfur, water vapor, and methane. This planet has 79 known Moons. This planet is so large that it can manage all those Moons without any problems. Jupiter is more than twice as massive as all of the other planets in the Solar System. Moreover, many of you may not know but Jupiter also has very light rings made mainly out of dust particles. I call Jupiter, the vacuum cleaner of the Solar System because it attracts and engulfs many asteroids that could collide with other planets and even the Earth. These asteroids are large enough to wipe out all life on Earth but thanks to Jupiter, that is not the case. Also, in almost all of the pictures of Jupiter that you will see on the internet, you will see a giant red spot. This spot is 1.3 times bigger than Earth and has been continuously observed from 1830. It is a giant storm that has been there for a long time and will end in a few years or decades.
In this blog, I explained the two gas giants of the Solar System. In the next, I will explain about the two ice giants and the not so planet, planet Pluto; or let’s say, the dwarf planet Pluto.
[1] Haris Ahmad is currently studying in 9th grade (O levels) in The City School Islamabad.
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