Jupiter

What is Jupiter Like?

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun. It is 777 million km from the sun. That’s more than five times Earth’s distance from the sun. Jupiter is the largest planet. It is larger across than eleven Earths! Jupiter has 63 moons.

Jupiter is covered by thick clouds. It is freezing cold at the top of the clouds. It is boiling hot at the center of Jupiter. There is a great red spot that is a giant storm. It’s like a hurricane on Earth, but it is much larger: as big as two Earths! It has been going on for more than 400 years. The great red spot has been seen since people began looking at Jupiter with telescopes in the early 1600′s. Jupiter has rings like Saturn’s but much smaller and fainter. Jupiter’s dark rings are probably made of dust and small pieces of rock. They are not like Saturn’s bright rings which are mostly ice.

A year on Jupiter is nearly 4333 Earth-days long. Jupiter’s gravity is much more than Earth’s. If you weigh 70 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 185 pounds on Jupiter. Jupiter is the fastest spinning planet in our solar system. A day on Jupiter is only 10 hours. Jupiter has the shortest day of all the planets.

Jupiter has no solid surface. It is a planet of swirling gases. The bands of colors we see when we look at Jupiter are gases rising and falling.

(Information taken from edhelper.com and Astronomy For Kids websites)
(Picture from NASA)

KEY FACTS

1 orbit of Sun (year): 4333 Earth-days long

1 rotation (day): 10 hours

Average distance from Sun: 777 million km

Diameter: 142, 984 km

Average Temperature:  -110 °C

Atmosphere: has several thick layers of brightly coloured clouds

Surface: is gaseous.  May have a very small solid core, but it is mostly gas.  What lies beneath the clouds is a mystery.

Natural satallites (moons): 63

Ring System: yes