All About Jupiter

Overview of Jupiter

• Jupiter is a gas giant and the fifth planet from the Sun.
• It is so large that more than 1,300 Earths could fit inside.
• Named after the king of the ancient Roman gods.
• Its atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen and helium, similarly to the sun.
• The atmosphere is very thick, covered in thick red, brown, yellow, and white clouds that give the planet a striped appearance.
• Sunlight needs 43 minutes to reach Jupiter from the Sun.

The Great Red Spot and Weather

• Jupiter's Great Red Spot, a storm larger than Earth, has lasted for centuries.
• Winds on Jupiter exceed 400 mph, surpassing hurricane and tornado speeds.
• About 3 1/2 Earths could fit across the Great Red Spot.

Jupiter's Rings

• Jupiter possesses three thin rings, unlike Saturn's prominent ones.
• These rings, mainly composed of tiny dust particles, were discovered in 1979 by NASA’s Voyager 1.
• The rings include:
  • Halo: A faint, wide, doughnut-shaped ring closest to Jupiter.
  • Main Ring: Extends from the halo ring, with the moons Adrastea and Metis orbiting within it, believed to be dust sources for the ring.
  • Gossamer Rings: Extremely faint rings made of microscopic debris from Amalthea and Thebe, extending beyond Amalthea's orbit.

Rotation and Orbit

• Jupiter has the fastest rotation of any planet, completing a spin in approximately 10 hours.
• It takes Jupiter 12 Earth years to orbit the Sun, making a year on Jupiter equivalent to 12 Earth years.

Gravity and Temperature

• Jupiter experiences very cold temperatures.
• Higher gravity compared to Earth, a 100-pound person would weigh about 240 pounds on Jupiter.

Jupiter's Major Moons

• Jupiter has four main moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa.
  • Ganymede: The largest moon in the solar system, it surpasses both Mercury and Pluto in size.
  • Callisto: Characterized by a heavily cratered surface.
  • Io: Notable for its numerous volcanoes that emit gases rich in sulfur, giving its surface a yellow-orange color from sulfur deposits.
  • Europa: Covered with water ice, possibly concealing a subsurface ocean with twice the water volume of Earth.

Jupiter's Exploration by NASA

• NASA has explored Jupiter using ground-based telescopes, the Hubble Space Telescope, and various spacecraft missions.
  • Pioneer 10: Launched in March 1972, reached Jupiter in December 1973, and transmitted its last signal in January 2003 from 7.6 billion miles away.
  • Pioneer 11: Flew closer to Jupiter in 1974 en route to Saturn.
  • Voyager 1: Discovered a thin ring, two new moons (Thebe and Metis), and active volcanoes on Io during its flyby in March 1979.
  • Voyager 2: The only spacecraft to study all four giant planets and discovered Jupiter's 14th moon. Explored the region outside the heliopause.
  • Galileo: The first spacecraft to orbit an outer planet, studied Jupiter and its moons for eight years. It was deliberately destroyed in Jupiter's atmosphere in 2003 to protect Europa's possible subsurface ocean.
  • Cassini: Studied the Jupiter system for six months (October 2000 - March 2001) to use Jupiter's gravity to slingshot towards Saturn.
  • Juno: Launched in 2011 and arrived at Jupiter in 2016 to study the planet's origin, evolution, and planet formation processes. Scheduled to continue investigations through September 2025. Named after the Roman goddess Juno, who could see through Jupiter's deceptive clouds.
  • Europa Clipper: Launched in October 2024, expected to reach Jupiter in 2030 to investigate Europa for potential life-supporting conditions.