Why do the giant planets rotate so much faster than the terrestrial planets in our solar system?
Jim Repass
Clinton, Washington
We still don’t fully understand what determines the rotation rate of giant planets; this is a key open topic in planetary science.
Let’s take a look at the differences between the giant planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune — and the terrestrial planets — Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The most obvious difference is that