Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and is the largest planet in the solar system, like the other four outer planets Jupiter is a gas giant.

Jupiter Planet Profile

Mass: 1,898,130,000,000,000,000 billion kg (317.83 x Earth)
Equatorial Diameter: 142,984 km
Polar Diameter: 133,709 km
Known Satellites: 67
Notable Satellites: Io, Europa, Ganymede, & Callisto
Orbit Distance: 778,340,821 km (5.20 AU)
Orbit Period: 4,332.82 Earth days (11.86 Earth years)
Surface Temperature: -108°C
First Record: 7th or 8th Century BC
Recorded By: Babylonian astronomers

Size of Jupiter

Size of Jupiter

Facts about Jupiter

It is not known when Jupiter was discovered – The earliest record of Jupiter is from Babylonian texts dating from the 7th or 8th century BC.

Jupiter is named after the king of the Roman gods – Jupiter has also been known as Zeus the Greek god of thunder and Marduk the Mesopotamian god and patron of the city of Babylon.

Jupiter’s most recognisable feature is the Great Red Storm – This is a storm that has been raging for at least 350 years and is large enough for two Earths to fit inside of.

Jupiter’s larger moon Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system – It’s has a diameter of 5,268 km making it larger than the planet Mercury.

Jupiter had two rings – These are thought to be composed of material from it’s moons where they have been struck by meteorites.

Jupiter is the third brightest object in the solar system – It is one of five planets that can be seen with the naked eye, the others are Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn.