Jupiter

Jupiter is in first place among planets in a number of ways. It is, of course, the largest of the planets. It's atmospheric features can be easily seen through a small telescope. It has the strongest magnetic field. It rotates the fastest. It has, by far, the greatest mass in the solar system, second only to the Sun itself.

Here are some of the essential facts about Jupiter:

Radius 71500 km which is about eleven times the size of Earth
Rotation 9 hours 50 minutes at the equator
Revolution 11.86 years to orbit the Sun
Semi major axis 5.2 A.U. - - Jupiter orbits beyond the asteroid belt
Atmosphere Mostly Hydrogen and some Helium, with possible organic compounds coloring the clouds. Essentially the same composition as a star.
Magnetic Field Jupiter has a metallic hydrogen layer, we think, which might be responsible for the planet's huge magnetic field. The magnetic field traps solar wind particles and makes for a very exciting environment around the planet. Here is how it might sound.
Cloud Features Dark Belts alternate with bright Zones. The Great Red Spot is a persistent storm in the southern hemisphere of the planet, which was much more prominent in 1974 when Pioneer 11 took this image. We learned something about the structure of the atmosphere of Jupiter when comet Shoemaker Levy 9 hit the planet sixteen years ago.
Moons or rings The four big ones discovered by Galileo. Here's a java applet that will show you the current alignment of these four moons. Some of the remaining moons might be captured minor planets. Jupiter's ring, seen in these images, consists of fine dust particles probably knocked off the inner moons.
Space Probes In the past thirty years, we have gathered thousands of close-up images of Jupiter and its moons. Pioneers 10 and 11 and Voyagers I and II were most successful in the 1970's and 1980's, and they are both still going strong. Our most recent probe at Jupiter has been the Galileo probe which orbited among the moons of Jupiter performing data collection in earnest. There is now talk of sending a probe to the surface of Europa to look for an ocean under the surface of that moon.

Breaking news about Jupiter's moon, Callisto. Another ocean?

Here are some recent images of Jupiter, its moons, and its environment.

Try this site for more images of Jupiter and its moons!

Designed and maintained by .
Updated November 1, 2010