Jupiter
Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, is a hydrogen, ammonium and helium giant. The planet has 50 moons (not including temporary ones), an immense magnetic field and if it had been about 80 times more massive it would have been a star unto itself.
Named for the most important god in Roman mythology, Jupiter takes nearly 12 years to complete its orbit around the Sun while a day on Jupiter is only about 10 hours long. Its rotation is actually the fastest in the solar system. The planet is perhaps best known for the Giant Red Spot, a storm of clouds that have been circulating since at least the 1800s.
Space-based exploration of Jupiter began in 1973 with the Pioneer 10 probe. Most data of Jupiter has come from such flyby probes, including the Saturn-focused spacecraft Cassini. Only the orbiter Galileo has studied the planet extensively, from 1995 to 2003. The spacecraft was deliberately crashed into Jupiter to avoid contaminating one of Jupiter’s moons.
Text by Noel Kirkpatrick
(Photo: NASA)
Articles about Jupiter
Thu, May 10 2012 at 5:54 PM EST
Jupiter's gravitational pull made it difficult for Vesta and other planetary building blocks to join together and make another planet or two.Mon, May 07 2012 at 3:12 PM EST
As the hot Jupiter planets close in on their suns, they likely scatter away any other planets in the system.Thu, May 03 2012 at 9:51 AM EST
The ESA will spend about $1.1 billion on the spacecraft, its launch and operation.Mon, Mar 26 2012 at 7:03 AM EST
After a century and a half, Venus graces the daytime sky with its presence, and Jupiter will appear in the evening.Wed, Mar 21 2012 at 2:59 PM EST
Gravitational pulls on Io cause massive flexing and intense volcanos, resulting in a surface unlike any other in the solar system.Mon, Mar 12 2012 at 10:16 AM EST
The alignment of Jupiter and Venus won't occur like this again until 2036, so break out the telescopes.Thu, Feb 23 2012 at 5:20 PM EST
Jupiter and Venus are gradually moving closer together and will pass each in the night sky of March 13.
Wed, Dec 14 2011 at 9:30 AM EST
Wed, Aug 31 2011 at 2:09 PM EST
The Jupiter-bound spacecraft is the first solar-powered one to head for the gas giant.Mon, Aug 29 2011 at 9:42 AM EST
Storms on other planets don't have the warm, swirling water to form hurricanes in the strictest sense, but these extraterrestrial storms have intend wind and lightning like Earth's hurricanes.- 1. Solar Storm
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