Guide to Planet Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and the fifth closest to the Sun. It is the first of the gas giants, and is named after the god of sky and thunder, who is also king of the roman gods. Jupiter has the largest number of moons, with a total of 67 confirmed moons.

Jupiter

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Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and also has the largest number of moons. It has the largest mass, 1/1000 of the sun which is 2.5 times the mass of all the other planets of the solar system combined. It is the fifth planet from the Sun and the first gas giant. The composition of Jupiter is similar to that of the Sun, made up of mainly hydrogen and helium. It is known for its stripes and swirls on its surface which are caused by the movement of gases in the Jovian atmosphere. Jupiter is famous for its large red spot. This spot is caused by a huge storm that is over 16,000 km wide. This storm has been continuously observed since 1830, but it could have existed for many years before that. Jupiter only has a small 3° tilt, so it doesn’t experience seasons like Earth and Mars.

Jupiter has the shortest day out of all eight planets of the solar system. It completes one rotation on its axis in ten hours. The planet is named after the Roman god of sky and thunder, who was also the king of gods in Roman mythology. Out of the eight planets in the solar system. Jupiter has the largest number of moons. Its four largest moons are known as the Galilean moons because they were first observed by Galileo in 1610. His observations led to disproving the geocentric model of the solar system.

Jupiter and its moons have been visited by spacecraft. The first mission to fly past Jupiter was Pioneer 10 in 1973. The first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter was Galileo in 1995 and spent seven years there, orbiting the planet 35 times.

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Jupiter Facts

• Orbital Period: 4,331 Earth days
• Length of a Day: 9.9 hours
• Diameter: 142,984 km
• Distance from the Sun: 778,600,000 km
• Strength of Gravity: 23.1 N/kg
• Number of Moons: 67