What are the main challenges involved in sending probes to the giant planets?
Why is it difficult to drop a probe like Galileo? How did engineers solve this problem?
Explain why visual observation of the gas giants is not sufficient to determine their rotation periods, and what evidence was used to deduce the correct periods.
What are the seasons like on Jupiter?
What is the consequence of Uranus’ spin axis being 98° away from perpendicular to its orbital plane?
Describe the seasons on the planet Uranus.
At the pressures in Jupiter’s interior, describe the physical state of the hydrogen found there.
Which of the gas giants has the largest icy/rocky core compared to its overall size?
In the context of the giant planets and the conditions in their interiors, what is meant by “rock” and “ice”?
What is the primary source of Jupiter’s internal heat?
Describe the interior heat source of Saturn.
Which planet has the strongest magnetic field, and hence the largest magnetosphere? What is its source?
What are the visible clouds on the four giant planets composed of, and why are they different from each other?
Compare the atmospheric circulation (weather) of the four giant planets.
What are the main atmospheric heat sources of each of the giant planets?
Why do the upper levels of Neptune’s atmosphere appear blue?
How do storms on Jupiter differ from storm systems on Earth?