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You are here: Home / Space / What Are the Outer Planets In the Solar System and What Are the Characteristics Of the Five Outer Planets?

What Are the Outer Planets In the Solar System and What Are the Characteristics Of the Five Outer Planets?

June 30, 2020 by Karen Hill

Size and composition are the two major characteristics shared by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

The smallest outer planet, with the exception of Pluto, which is in a category by itself, is Neptune, and Neptune is almost four times larger than Earth.

The outer planets have small cores and huge gaseous outer surfaces.

When the Sun developed into a main sequence star, the lightest elements, gases, that were expelled into space traveled the farthest, and they soon became planets.

The heavier elements were incorporated into the inner, or terrestrial planets.

The outer planets also all have many satellites orbiting them, from Neptune’s eight moons to more than twenty orbiting Saturn.

The gas giants, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, have small, rocky cores, semisolid mantles, and large outer layers of gases.

While Saturn is best known as the ringed planet, all gas giants have ring systems.

Related Facts

  • What Are the Outer Planets, What Are The Names of the Outer Planets, and Where Are the Outer Planets Located?
  • What Are the Characteristics of the Inner Planets In Our Solar System and How Are the Inner Planets Similar?
  • What Is the Solar System and How Many Planets Are There In the Solar System?
  • How Old Is the Solar System and How Long After the Sun Did the Planets In the Solar System Form?
  • Are There Planets In Other Solar Systems and Is There Any Evidence That Other Solar Systems Have Planets?
  • When Did the Planets In the Solar System Form and How Long After the Big Bang Were the Planets Created?
  • Where Did Minor Planets In Our Solar System Come From and What Are the Minor Planets Made Of?
  • What Are the Inner Planets and What Are the Names Of the Four Inner Planets In Our Solar System?
  • How Big Is the Solar System and What Is the Farthest Identifiable Object In the Solar System?
  • What Causes Solar Wind and What Is the Difference Between Solar Wind and Solar Flares?
  • What Are Solar Flares, What Causes Solar Flares, and How Do Solar Flares Affect Life On Earth?
  • What Is a Solar Prominence, What Do Solar Prominences Look Like, and How Big Do Solar Prominences Get?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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