Deborah & William Hillyard
Deborah & William Hillyard
Deborah & William Hillyard
Deborah & William Hillyard
Deborah & William Hillyard
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Solar System -
Jupiter
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Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, and is an oblate spheroid about 142,984 km (88,846 miles) in diameter at the equater, and around 6½% less at the poles. It is more than 11 times the diameter of the Earth, and its volume is equivalent to 1,321 Earths, although it weighs only 318 times as much being on average much less dense. It is the fifth planet out from the sun, which it orbits at an average distance of about 778,570,000 km (483,780,000 miles) in a slightly elliptical orbit, taking a little less than 12 Earth years (4,331.6 days) to complete. Although extremely large, Jupiter takes only 9 hours and 56 minutes to spin once on its axis, which is what causes the difference in equatorial and polar diameters. As Jupiter is classified as a gas giant, there is very little solid component to its structure.
Its atmosphere comprises about 75 percent hydrogen and 24 percent helium, by mass. The remaining 1% or so comprises carbon monoxide, water, ammonia, methane and other trace elements. Interior composition is a little different comprising about 71 percent hydrogen and 24 percent helium, and 5% other elements, again by mass. Jupiter may have a rocky core comprising up to 15% of its mass. This is not certain, although it probably had a rocky core earlier in its life. This core would have reduced in size over time, and may have disappeared entirely. Research continues on this subject.
Jupiter's outer temperature, near the top of the cloud layer, is about -145 degrees C. However, near the center, the temperature could be as high as 24,000 degrees C, which is hotter than the surface of the sun. Jupiter also radiates about twice as much heat as it receives from the sun due to the compression of the material at the center. It has a magnetic field that is about 14 times stronger than the Earth's.
The most spectacular visible feature of Jupiter is the Great Red Spot. At its widest, it is nearly 25,000 miles across. It is believed to be similar to a hurricane on Earth, but on a much larger scale. The color is probably derived from sulfur and phosphorus impurities in the ammonia chrystals which comprise the bulk of the clouds in the upper atmosphere.
In July 1994, 21 pieces of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 fell into Jupiter's atmosphere. The impact explosions scattered debris over areas larger than the diameter of the Earth, and the scars on Jupiter's surface were visible for several months after the collisions. In 2009, another unkown object, probably about 1 km across, hit Jupiter and left a scar the size of the Pacific Ocean.
Jupiter has 63 confirmed moons, of which 16 are known to be more than 6 miles across. The four largest satellites, known as the Galilean satellites following Galileo's discovery of them in 1610, are Ganymede, Europa, Io, and Callisto. The largest is Ganymede, with a diameter of about 3,250 miles.
Its atmosphere comprises about 75 percent hydrogen and 24 percent helium, by mass. The remaining 1% or so comprises carbon monoxide, water, ammonia, methane and other trace elements. Interior composition is a little different comprising about 71 percent hydrogen and 24 percent helium, and 5% other elements, again by mass. Jupiter may have a rocky core comprising up to 15% of its mass. This is not certain, although it probably had a rocky core earlier in its life. This core would have reduced in size over time, and may have disappeared entirely. Research continues on this subject.
Jupiter's outer temperature, near the top of the cloud layer, is about -145 degrees C. However, near the center, the temperature could be as high as 24,000 degrees C, which is hotter than the surface of the sun. Jupiter also radiates about twice as much heat as it receives from the sun due to the compression of the material at the center. It has a magnetic field that is about 14 times stronger than the Earth's.
The most spectacular visible feature of Jupiter is the Great Red Spot. At its widest, it is nearly 25,000 miles across. It is believed to be similar to a hurricane on Earth, but on a much larger scale. The color is probably derived from sulfur and phosphorus impurities in the ammonia chrystals which comprise the bulk of the clouds in the upper atmosphere.
In July 1994, 21 pieces of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 fell into Jupiter's atmosphere. The impact explosions scattered debris over areas larger than the diameter of the Earth, and the scars on Jupiter's surface were visible for several months after the collisions. In 2009, another unkown object, probably about 1 km across, hit Jupiter and left a scar the size of the Pacific Ocean.
Jupiter has 63 confirmed moons, of which 16 are known to be more than 6 miles across. The four largest satellites, known as the Galilean satellites following Galileo's discovery of them in 1610, are Ganymede, Europa, Io, and Callisto. The largest is Ganymede, with a diameter of about 3,250 miles.
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