Jupiter

Jupiter is the 5th planet from the Sun, and by far the largest in the Solar System. Jupiter is named after the king of the Greek gods, Zeus. Zeus is the son of Cronos whom is named after Saturn.

The details of Jupiter’s appearance are always changing. The cloud belts are caused by clouds of frozen ammonia, ammonium hydro-sulfide, water, ice, and other compounds being swept through the outer layers of the planet at up to 250 mph. Some markings have lasted for decades.

The great red spot is a vast whirlpool on the surface of Jupiter. About twice the size of the Earth’s diameter, it draws material up from below as it rotates every 6 days. The color of the spot fades away for several years, and may be caused by sunlight reacting with chemicals in the clouds to release red phosphorus.

Jupiter’s clouds lie in the upper 1 ½ miles of the atmosphere. The planet is made up of almost pure hydrogen and helium, compressed into a hot liquid. This churning liquid produces a powerful magnetic field s and electrical currents, which produce radio waves. Below these clouds lie liquid hydrogen, liquid metallic hydrogen, then the iron core.

The planet is approximately 87,000 miles in diameter, and is 388 times the size of Earths mass. It is also 367 million miles from Earth. The length of a year on Jupiter lasts 11.9 Earth years.

The planet has 63 known moons; the 4 large moons were discovered by Galileo Galilee, with a telescope in 1610, they include, Callisto, Ganymede, Europa, and Io. The remaining smaller moons have yet to be officially named.

Jupiter’s ring is approximately 4000 miles wide and 20 miles thick, is made up of small particles. And is surrounded by a fainter 12,500 miles halo.