Jupiter: The Gas Giant

JUPITER (GAS PLANET)

• Named after the Roman god Zeus and associated with war due to its reddish hue.
• Diameter: Approximately 6,779 kilometers (4,212 miles) and can contain over 1,000 Earths.
• Distance from the Sun: 228 million kilometers, making it the fifth planet in the solar system.
• Day length: 24.6 hours; Year length: about 687 Earth days.
• Surface temperature ranges from -5°C to -87°C.
• Hosts the Great Red Spot, a massive storm larger than Earth, persisting for over 350 years.
• Atmosphere primarily composed of carbon dioxide (95.3%), nitrogen, and argon.
• Features a system of rings and numerous moons, highlighting its immense size and magnetic field.

MARS (RED PLANET)

• Known as the Red Planet due to its iron-rich soil, giving it a reddish appearance.
• Home to Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano and largest mountain in the solar system, towering 16 miles high.
• Contains the Borealis Basin, the largest crater on Mars, covering 5,300 miles and accounting for 40% of the planet’s surface.

URANUS

• Discovered on March 13, 1781, by William Herschel using a telescope.
• Named after the Greek god of the sky; characterized by a blue hue from methane gas in its atmosphere.
• Rotates on its side, almost at a 90-degree angle from its orbit, in retrograde motion.
• The planet has completed its first orbit in 165 years since discovery (1846).

COMETS

• Composed of ice and dust; known for their long tails formed as they approach the Sun.
• Typically classified as short-period comets found in the Kuiper Belt or long-period comets originating from the Oort Cloud.
• As comets near the Sun, they heat up, causing ice to sublimate into gas, creating visible tails.
• Famous comets include Halley, which will return in 2061, and Hale-Bopp, which was prominent in 1996-1997.

ASTEROIDS

• Vary in size and shape, most being jagged and irregular; they can range from pebbles to hundreds of miles in diameter.
• Classified into three main types: stony, metallic, and stony-metallic.
• Composition primarily includes nickel and iron, with some containing clay or other rock types.

METEORS AND METEOR SHOWERS

• Millions of meteors enter Earth's atmosphere daily, with possible meteor showers occurring when Earth passes comet debris.
• Notable meteorites include Chelyabinsk, Allan Hills 84001, and the Winchcombe meteorite.

LUNAR ECLIPSE

• Occurs when Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the Moon, aligning Sun, Earth, and Moon.
• Types of lunar eclipses: Penumbral (slight dimming), Partial (Earth's shadow partially covers the Moon), and Total (Moon appears red due to filtered sunlight).
• Occurs less frequently than expected due to the Moon’s orbit being tilted by 5 degrees.

SOLAR ECLIPSE

• Occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, casting a shadow over the Earth's surface.
• Only happens during a New Moon, when the moonlit half is turned away from the Earth.
• Eclipses repeat in cycles, occurring approximately every 18 years.

Explore the fascinating characteristics of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. Learn about its Roman roots, immense size, and stunning array of moons. This quiz will test your knowledge of Jupiter's history, distance from the Sun, and physical features.