The Bridge V Learning Edition 1 ; our solar system | Page 9

Gas Giants
T he ‘ ga s gi an ts’ a re s o -c all ed b ec au se the y a re la rge comp ared to o the r
p lan e ts an d th e y a re c ompo se d mos tl y of g as . Th e y con si s t of a mi gh ty
a tm osp he re a nd a rela ti vel y small sol id core .
Jupiter
J up i te r i s th e la rge s t p lan e t i n o ur Sol a r Sys tem . It co nsi s ts of g as ma inl y
h yd roge n a nd hel ium a nd is thou gh t to h a ve a sm all s oli d c o re an d i t ha s a thin
ri ng s ys tem .
T he re is a famo us red sp o t o n i ts s urfac e , th is mo ve s a nd i s twi ce the si ze of
th e Ea rth . A t the en d o f th e la s t c en tu ry the sp o t wa s fo un d to be a h ug e s to rm
(a hu rri ca ne ) T his s torm ha s b ee n k no wn ab ou t f o r 4 00 yea rs .
T he Jup i te r mo on s ystem i s th e mos t imp res si ve i n th e s ola r s ystem , this
p lan e t h as a t l eas t 67 m oon s . .