Are you curious to learn some weird and wonderful facts about Jupiter?
If so, excellent! You are in exactly the right place my friend…
It’s time to chat about Jupiter facts.
Let’s dive right in…
Facts About Jupiter
1 – Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system.
2 – It has a diameter of 142,984 km – that’s 11 times more than Earth!
3 – Jupiter rotates on its axis every 9 hours 55 minutes and 30 seconds.
4 – The Great Red Spot is a giant storm that’s been raging for over 300 years and it’s twice as wide as the earth.
5 – If you were to stand on one of Jupiter’s moons, you would have to be careful not to fall off because they all rotate faster than their planet does.
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6 – Jupiter’s moon has active volcanoes which are much hotter than any volcano we know here on Earth so if you wanted to go there, make sure your space suit was up to scratch!
7 – Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun.
8 – The average temperature on Jupiter is -140 degrees Fahrenheit (-90 degrees Celsius).
9 – There are no oceans or rivers on Jupiter, but there are clouds made up of ammonia and hydrogen sulphide.
10 – Jupiter has a diameter 11 times that of Earth’s.
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11 – The Great Red Spot (a storm) was first discovered by a scientist named Robert Hooke in 1665, but it’s been there for at least 400 years.
12 – Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, is larger than Mercury and Pluto.
13 – Its mass is 318 times that of Earth.
14 – Jupiter’s atmosphere contains hydrogen and helium gases, with traces of water vapor, ammonia ice and methane.
15 – There are three layers of clouds on Jupiter – high altitude hazes, middle level ammonium hydrosulfide clouds, and lowest level water ice crystals.
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16 – In 1979 NASA sent two space probes to study the planet – one named Voyagers 1 and 2.
17 – Jupiter’s gravity pulls on objects in space, including asteroids and comets, so it acts as a shield against these dangerous objects.
18 – On July 4th 2015 NASA sent Juno to orbit around Jupiter – it will take about 20 months before we get any data back but scientists are excited about what they’ll find out there!
19 – The first spacecraft to reach Jupiter was Pioneer 10 in 1973.
20 – In 1979, two Voyager spacecrafts took photos of lightning storms in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
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21 – There are three layers of clouds in the atmosphere – high altitude (white), middle altitude (gray) and low altitude (brown).
22 – Jupiter has a very strong magnetic field and can control its own moons.
23 – Jupiter’s rings are made of dust, not ice and rock like Saturn’s.
24 – There are three large storms on Jupiter – two white ovals called Oval BA and Oval BC as well as the Great Red Spot. The storm known as Oval BA was first observed by NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility during an infrared survey of the northern hemisphere in 1995-1996.
The Great Red Spot is a storm that has been raging for centuries on Jupiter; scientists are still trying to figure out what causes this storm to continue so long without dying down or changing course.
25 – Jupiter rotates much faster than Earth – it takes just 9 hours to complete one rotation on its axis
Bonus Facts
Winds on Jupiter can reach speeds up to 600 km per hour, which would be enough to power a hurricane on Earth.
