
Lecture Description
Today we’re rounding out our planetary tour with ice giants Uranus and Neptune. Both have small rocky cores, thick mantles of ammonia, water, and methane, and atmospheres that make them look greenish and blue. Uranus has a truly weird rotation and relatively dull weather, while Neptune has clouds and storms whipped by tremendous winds. Both have rings and moons, with Neptune’s Triton probably being a captured iceball that has active geology.
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Table of Contents
Ice Giants With Small Rocky Cores 2:18
Thick Mantles of Ammonia, Water, and Methane 1:53
Atmospheres Makes Them Look Green And Blue 2:53
Uranus Has Dull Weather 3:35
Neptune Has Active Weather 7:19
Both Have Rings And Moons 5:12
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PHOTOS/VIDEOS
Uranus en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_2#/media/File:Uranus2.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL/Voyager mission]
Neptune www.nasa.gov/content/25-years-ago-voyager-2-captures-images-of-neptune/ [credit: NASA]
King George III en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_III_of_the_United_Kingdom#/media/File:Allan_Ramsay_-_King_George_III_in_coronation_robes_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Uranus from Earth picture by Phil Plait
Uranus, Earth size comparison en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Uranus,_Earth_size_comparison.jpg [credit: NASA]
Uranus core, reconstructed from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Uranus-intern-en.png [credit: Wikimedia Commons]
Uranus www.spacetelescope.org/static/archives/images/screen/opo0647b.jpg [credit: NASA, ESA, L. Sromovsky and P. Fry (University of Wisconsin), H. Hammel (Space Science Institute), and K. Rages (SETI Institute)]
Uranus storms www.keckobservatory.org/images/made/images/blog/Uranus_Aug20142_800_407.jpg [credit: Imke de Pater (UC–Berkeley)/Keck Observatory]
Uranus and rings (tilt demonstration) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus#/media/File:Uranusandrings.jpg [credit: Hubble Space Telescope - NASA Marshall Space Flight Center]
Uranus with rings and moons www.eso.org/public/images/eso0237a/ [credit: ESO]
Miranda en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Uranus#/media/File:Miranda.jpg [credit: NASA]
Verona Rupes apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110404.html [credit: NASA]
Neptune’s Interior solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=283 [credit: Lunar and Planetary Institute]
Neptune clouds en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Neptune_clouds.jpg [credit: NASA]
Neptune’s Great Dark Spot en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune#/media/File:Neptune%27s_Great_Dark_Spot.jpg [credit: NASA / Jet Propulsion Lab]
Neptune’s Rings www.rolfolsenastrophotography.com/Astrophotography/Solar-System/i-vjMHSxz/A [credit: Rolf Wahl Olsen / NASA/JPL (Voyager 2, NASA Planetary Data System)]
Triton en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_(moon)#/media/File:Triton_moon_mosaic_Voyager_2_(large).jpg [credit: NASA / Jet Propulsion Lab / U.S. Geological Survey]
Triton flipped en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PIA01538_Triton_flipped_v.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL]
Triton Nitrogen Geysers en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_(moon)#/media/File:Voyager_2_Triton_14bg_r90ccw_colorized.jpg[credit: NASA]
Course Index
- Introduction to Astronomy
- Naked Eye Observations
- Cycles in the Sky
- Moon Phases
- Eclipses
- Telescopes
- The Gravity of the Situation
- Tides
- Introduction to the Solar System
- The Sun
- The Earth
- The Moon
- Mercury
- Venus
- Mars
- Jupiter
- Jupiter's Moons
- Saturn
- Uranus & Neptune
- Asteroids
- Comets
- The Oort Cloud
- Meteors
- Light
- Distances
- Stars
- Exoplanets
- Brown Dwarfs
- Low Mass Stars
- White Dwarfs & Planetary Nebulae
- High Mass Stars
- Neutron Stars
- Black Holes
- Binary and Multiple Stars
- Star Clusters
- Nebulae
- The Milky Way
- Galaxies, part 1
- Galaxies, part 2
- Gamma-Ray Bursts
- Dark Matter
- The Big Bang, Cosmology part 1
- Dark Energy, Cosmology part 2
- A Brief History of the Universe
- Deep Time
- Everything, The Universe...And Life
- Explore The Solar System:
Course Description
In this Crash Course series, marvel at the wonders of astronomy with your host for this intergalactic adventure, the Bad Astronomer himself -- Phil Plait. In just 40 short lessons, you will learn the basics of the oldest science known to humanity.
Be sure to check out links to relevant Photos in the description for each video.