Jupiter

Quick Facts about Jupiter

Distance:

778.3 million km

Mass (Earth=1):

317.8

Density:

1.32g/cm3

Rotational Period:

9.8 hrs

Equatorial Diameter:

142800 km

# of Satellites:

16

# of Rings:

1

Jupiter is the giant of the Solar System, it is twice the size of all the other planets put together. It is the fifth planet from the sun and it was named after the ruler of the Roman gods.

It is a gas planet of hydrogen and helium, and is covered by constantly moving clouds, which are hundreds of miles thick. These clouds are mostly made of hydrogen gas. Jupiter has a thin ring circulating the planet which was discovered by the space shuttle the Voyager. The temperature at the cloud top is very cold (over 250 degrees below freezing), but at the centre Jupiter is very hot. Near its core, Jupiter may be far hotter than the surface of the sun. Telescopes show us that Jupiter's cloudy atmosphere is divided into dark belts and bright zones. The bright zones are where heated gases rise, and the dark bands show where they cool and sink.

This mighty planet spins around on its axis more than twice as quickly as Earth. This spinning flattens Jupiter somewhat, so it looks like a slightly squashed orange.

Jupiter has 16 moons or satellites.

 

Back

Saturn