All about Jupiter

Overview of Jupiter

• Jupiter is a gas giant and the fifth planet from the sun.
• Its volume can contain over 1,300 Earths.
• Named after the king of the ancient Roman gods.
• The atmosphere mainly consists of hydrogen and helium, similar to the sun.
• Has a very thick atmosphere with red, brown, yellow, and white clouds

Atmosphere

• Cloud bands give Jupiter a striped appearance
• Sunlight takes 43 minutes to reach Jupiter.
• The Great Red Spot is a giant storm, centuries old and larger than Earth.
• Winds exceed 400 mph, faster than hurricanes and tornadoes.
• The storm is wide enough to fit almost 3 1/2 Earths across it.

Ring System

• Jupiter possesses three thin rings, unlike Saturn's.
• The rings are difficult to observe.
• Voyager 1 discovered the rings in 1979.
• The rings are primarily composed of tiny dust particles.

Jupiter's Rings

• Halo: A faint, wide, doughnut-shaped ring, the closest to Jupiter.
• The Main Ring: Extends from the halo ring, with the moons Adrastea and Metis orbiting within. It is believed that they are a source of the ring's dust.
• Gossamer Rings: Faint and wide, composed of microscopic debris, extend beyond the orbit of Amalthea and Thebe.

Rotation and Orbit

• Jupiter rotates faster than any other planet
• A day on Jupiter is about 10 hours long.
• One year on Jupiter is equivalent to 12 Earth years

Gravity and Temperature

• Has a cold climate and stronger gravity than Earth
• A person weighing 100 pounds on Earth would weigh 240 pounds on Jupiter.

Jupiter's Major Moons

• Jupiter has four major moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa.
• Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system and is larger than Mercury and Pluto.
• Callisto is characterized by a heavily cratered surface.
• Io has numerous volcanoes that emit gases containing sulfur, which likely contributes to the moon's yellow-orange surface.
• Europa is covered with water ice with a potential ocean or slushy ice beneath, possibly holding twice as much water as Earth.

Exploration Missions

• Earth-based and orbiting telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope have been used to study Jupiter.
• NASA spacecraft extensively studied Jupiter from 1979 to 2007.

Pioneer Missions

• Pioneer 10: NASA’s first mission to Jupiter, launched in March 1972, made its closest approach on December 4, 1973, and sent its last signal in January 2003 from 7.6 billion miles away.
• Pioneer 11: Flew closer to Jupiter in 1974, continued to Saturn, and then headed out of the solar system.

Voyager Missions

• Voyager 1: Discovered a thin ring, new moons (Thebe and Metis), and active volcanoes on Io in March 1979, then continued to Saturn and interstellar space.
• Voyager 2: It is the only spacecraft to study all four giant planets and discovered a 14th moon at Jupiter.

Galileo Mission

• Galileo: First spacecraft to orbit an outer planet, launched in 1989, orbited Jupiter for about eight years, and deployed a probe into Jupiter's atmosphere.
• It was deliberately destroyed to protect a potential ocean beneath Europa's icy crust.

Cassini Mission

• Cassini: Explored Jupiter for about six months between 2000 and 2001 during its journey to Saturn, using Jupiter's gravity for a slingshot effect.

Juno Mission

• Juno: Arrived at Jupiter in 2016 to study the planet's origin, evolution, planet formation, moons, rings, and surrounding environment, with operations planned through September 2025.

Europa Clipper Mission

• Europa Clipper: Launched in October 2024 and scheduled to reach Jupiter in 2030
• It will examine Jupiter's moon, Europa, to identify conditions that may potentially support life.