The outer solar system contains the four giant planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The gas giants Jupiter and Saturn have overall compositions similar to that of the Sun.

These planets have been explored by the Pioneer, Voyager, Galileo, and Cassini spacecraft. Voyager 2, perhaps the most successful of all space-science missions, explored Jupiter (1979), Saturn (1981), Uranus (1986), and Neptune (1989)—a grand tour of the giant planets—and these flybys have been the only…

synchrotron radiation — the radiation emitted by charged particles being accelerated in magnetic fields and moving at speeds near that of light. photochemistry — chemical changes caused by electromagnetic radiation.

Be able to summarize the missions sent to orbit the gas giants; describe the basic physical characteristics, general appearance, and rotation of the giant planets; describe the composition and structure of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.