The largest planet and the 5th from the sun; has many satellites.
The fifth planet from the Sun, and the largest in the Solar System, with a mass more than twice that of all the other planets combined, 318 times that of Earth's. It is largely composed of hydrogen and helium, liquefied by pressure in its interior, and probably with a rocky core larger than Earth. Its main feature is the Great Red Spot, a cloud of rising gases, revolving counterclockwise, 14,000 km/8,500 mi wide and some 30,000 km/20,000 mi long.
mean distance from the Sun 778 million km/484 million mi
equatorial diameter 142,800 km/88,700 mi
rotation period 9 hr 51 min
year (complete orbit) 11.86 Earth years
atmosphere consists of clouds of white ammonia crystals, drawn out into belts by the planets high speed of rotation (the fastest of any planet). Darker orange and brown clouds at lower levels may contain sulfur, as well as simple organic compounds. Further down still, temperatures are warm, a result of heat left over from Jupiters formation, and it is this heat that drives the turbulent weather patterns of the planet.
surface although largely composed of hydrogen and helium, Jupiter probably has a rocky core larger than Earth.
satellites Jupiter has 16 moons. The four largest moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, are the Galilean satellites, discovered in 1610 by Galileo (Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System). Three small moons were discovered in 1979 by the Voyager space probes, as was a faint ring of dust around Jupiters equator 55,000 km/34,000 mi above the cloud tops.
The Great Red Spot was first observed 1664. Its top is higher than the surrounding clouds; its color is thought to be due to red phosphorus. Jupiters strong magnetic field gives rise to a large surrounding magnetic shell, or magnetosphere, from which bursts of radio waves are detected. The Southern Equatorial Belt in which the Great Red Spot occurs is subject to unexplained fluctuation. In 1989 it sustained a dramatic and sudden fading.
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter July 1994. Impact zones were visible but are not likely to remain.
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