The Giant Planets (Astronomy)

Recall cards on the four giant planets of the outer solar system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The composition of the outer solar system and the distinction between the gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) and the ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). The robotic missions that explored them: the Pioneers, the two Voyagers and their Grand Tour, Galileo and its atmospheric probe at Jupiter, Cassini and the Titan landing at Saturn, and Juno's polar orbit. The bulk properties of each planet: orbital period, diameter, mass, density, rotation, and axial tilt, including Uranus tipped on its side. Their interiors of liquid metallic hydrogen, rock-and-ice cores, internal heat sources, and strong tilted magnetic fields. And their atmospheres: the hydrogen-helium composition, the ammonia and methane cloud decks, the belts and zones, the ferocious jet streams, and the long-lived storms such as Jupiter's Great Red Spot and Neptune's Great Dark Spot.