10 Amazing Facts about Jupiter
Find out some of the top 10 amazing and interesting facts about Jupiter which is the largest planet in our solar system.
Jupiter is the fifth planet in the Solar System. It is the largest and heaviest planet, and its weight is about 2.48 times the sum of the masses of all the other planets combined. This is the reason why Jupiter was named as the king of the gods. It is massive, and has a powerful magnetic field and more moons than any planet in the Solar System.
While there are thousands of interesting facts about the fifth planet in our neighborhood, here we bring you a compilation of the most amazing facts about jupiter.
Interesting Facts about Jupiter
1. Its Massive
The mass of Jupiter is 318 times more than Earth. In fact, Jupiter is 2.5 times more massive than all the other planets in the solar system combined. This is one of the most amazing fact about Jupiter because of its sheer size.
2. Jupiter Can not become a star
Astronomers call Jupiter “The failed star,” but that is not an appropriate description. While it is true that as a star, Jupiter is rich in hydrogen and helium, it does not have enough mass to trigger a fusion reaction at its core. This is how stars generate energy: Fusing its hydrogen atoms to extreme heat and pressure to create helium, releasing light and heat in the process.
3. It is the FASTEST spinning planet in the solar system
For all its size and mass, Jupiter is obviously moving fast. In fact, with a rotational speed of 12.6 km / s (~ 7.45m / s) or what is the same 45,300 km / h (28.148 mph). The planet takes only 10 hours to complete a full rotation on its axis.
4.Jupiter’s clouds are 50 km thick
That’s right, all those swirling clouds and storms that you see on Jupiter measure only about 50km thick approximately. They are made of ammonia crystals which divides them into two different layers. The darker material is thought that comes from, the lower layers and changes color when it reacts with sunlight. But beneath these clouds, there is only hydrogen and helium to the bottom.
5. Red Mancha (Great Red Spot) has been there for a long time
The Great Red Spot of Jupiter is one of the most interesting fact about Jupiter. This persistent cyclonic storm, which is located south of Ecuador, measured between 24,000km 12-14,000km diameter and width. Therefore, it can accomodate 2 or 3 planets which are about the size of the diameter of our beloved Earth.
This red eye has been there about 350 years ago since it was discovered in the seventeenth century.
6. Jupiter Has Rings too
When people think of ring systems, Saturn comes naturally to their mind. But in truth, both Uranus and Jupiter have their ring systems. This is surely one of the interesting facts about jupiter.
Jupiter’s rings consist of three main segments, a bull particle known as very thin “halo,” a ring main which is relatively bright and two other external called “gauze rings.”
7. Jupiter’s magnetic field is 14 Times Stronger than Earth
It has a very strong magnetic field which is almost 14 times stronger than Earth’s Magnetic field.
8. Jupiter has 67 Natural Satellites
Jupiter has about 67 confirmed satellites and appointed. However, it is estimated that the planet has about 200 natural satellites that orbit. Almost all of them are less than 10 km in diameter and were discovered after 1975 when the first spacecraft (Pioneer 10) arrived at Jupiter.
9) It has 4 Major Moons
However, also it has four major moons, these are collectively known as Galilean satellites after being discovered by Galileo Galilei. These are, in order of distance from Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. These moons are among the largest in the Solar System, Ganymede being the largest with 5,262 km in diameter.
10. It is the Third Brightest Object in the Night Sky
Jupiter is the third brightest object in the solar system in our night sky after the Moon and Venus. You may find seeing Jupiter in the sky, and you have no idea what you’re seeing.
The next time you see something that looks like a “star” bright in the night sky, and you have binoculars handy, take them and look carefully, you can probably see the Great Red Spot. Luckily, you can see small orbiting dots, these are the Galilean moons which Galileo witnessed in 1610.
What is the Great Red Spot on Jupiter?
The Great Red Spot is a giant storm, swirling in the atmosphere of Jupiter. It’s like a hurricane on Earth, but much larger. The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is more than twice the size of Earth! The interior of this storm winds reach speeds of around 270 miles per hour. No one knows when the Great Red Spot first appeared on Jupiter but has been seen on Jupiter since people began observing through telescopes around 400 years ago.
The biggest storm is known not on earth but in the atmosphere of Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet. With up to 40,000 kilometers long and 12,000 wide, it is so great that our planet would fit comfortably inside. To top it off, generating winds blowing at speeds of up to 600 kilometers per hour.
From the outside, this storm has the shape of a gigantic reddish vortex in Jupiter’s atmosphere, so astronomers refer to it with the clever name of the Great Red Spot.
A century ago this huge storm had a diameter of about 40,000 kilometers, which has been reduced by half and since 2012. If this continues, the Great Red Spot may dissapear completely by 2040.
Finally, in the heart of the world, there is a rocky core with a mass between 14 and 18 times greater than the Earth. In a sense, it could be considered that this is the ground of Jupiter but with a temperature of between 13,000 and 35.000ºC and pressures up to 100 million atmospheres.
Fun Facts about Jupiter for Kids
Important dates related to Jupiter:
1610: Galileo Galilei makes the first detailed observations of Jupiter.
1973: Pioneer 10 becomes the first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt and fly past Jupiter.
1979: Voyager 1 and 2 Discover Jupiter rings, several new moons and volcanic activity on the surface of Io.
1994: Astronomers observe as pieces of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collide with the southern hemisphere of Jupiter.
1995-2003: The Galileo spacecraft drops a probe into the atmosphere of Jupiter and makes prolonged observations of Jupiter and its moons and rings.
2007: Images taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, on the way to Pluto, show new perspectives of Jupiter.
2009: On July 20, almost exactly 15 years after the Comet Shoemaker-Levy fragments crashed into Jupiter, a comet or asteroid crashes into the southern hemisphere of the giant planet.
2011: The Juno spacecraft launches to examine Jupiter’s chemistry, its environment, its interior structure, and the magnetosphere.
If you are interested in Astrology and want to know why and how Jupiter affects your astrology then make sure to click on the following link.