Science & Nature•June 13, 2026•2 min read

Intro to the Giant Planets — How to Compare Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

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OIYO EditorialContributor

The outer planets make more sense as systems than as places to land

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are hard to picture if you imagine them the way you’d imagine Earth — as a solid surface you could stand on. They’re better understood as miniature planetary systems in their own right, each built around an enormous atmosphere, rings, a powerful magnetic field, and dozens of moons.

A sense of distance for the outer giant planets

태양
Jupiter 5.20 AU
Saturn 9.58 AU
Uranus 19.2 AU
Neptune 30.1 AU

Jupiter

  • The largest planet
  • A powerful magnetic field
  • The Great Red Spot and the Galilean moons

Saturn

  • Its unmistakable rings
  • Unusually low average density
  • Titan and Enceladus

Uranus

  • A rotation axis tipped almost sideways
  • An ice giant
  • A pale blue-green atmosphere

Neptune

  • Ferocious winds
  • The solar system's outermost ice giant
  • Its moon Triton

The giant planets get far more interesting once you stop looking at each one in isolation and start looking at it together with its moons and rings.

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