Jupiter - The Giant Planet

Jupiter is the 5th planet from the Sun. Its mass is 2.5 times greater than the combined mass of all other planets in the solar system.

The bands and swirls on Jupiter are cold clouds of ammonia and water floating in an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium.

Jupiter has the shortest day, lasting only 10 hours.

Despite Jupiter not having a true surface, no existing spacecraft could fly through Jupiter due to the high pressure and temperature deep within the planet. A spacecraft at a certain depth would simply melt and evaporate.

10 Facts About Jupiter

  • Jupiter is the 5th planet from the Sun, a gas giant.
  • This is the largest planet in the solar system, with an equatorial radius 11.2 times larger than Earth's.
  • Jupiter's mass is approximately 2.5 times greater than all other planets in the solar system combined, and 317 times greater than Earth's mass.
  • Jupiter's outer layers consist mainly of hydrogen and helium, while the composition of inner layers cannot be determined by modern methods.
  • The Great Red Spot is an oval formation of changing sizes, located in the southern tropical zone. This is a unique long-lived giant hurricane, whose diameter is larger than Earth's diameter.
  • Lightning up to several thousand kilometers long occurs in the center of hurricanes on Jupiter.
  • Jupiter, like Earth, has auroras.
  • Jupiter has 69 satellites, one of them - Ganymede, is the largest satellite in the solar system.
  • One of the satellites - Europa, has a global ocean where life may exist.
  • Jupiter, like all gas giants in the solar system, has faint rings.
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