This is an article describing many features and facts about the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter. I wrote this a few months ago and posted it on different forums and websites so people could learn more about this wonderful gas giant. I hope you like it, enjoy!
Weather and Surface: The surface of Jupiter is not solid, it is a planet made of 90% hydrogen, 10% helium, and is covered by colorful clouds. This is why it is known as the Gas Giant. There are various weather systems and winds that can reach to over 400mph (650kph). When the planet’s falling gases and rising gases meet at a point, they create a storm. The largest storm on Jupiter, known as the Great Red Spot, is approximately 2-3 times the diameter of Earth. Many of these large storms can be spotted from Earth and they can produce bolts of lightning. There is also few traces of liquid on Jupiter, and if none, very few solid surfaces. At the core of Jupiter, the temperatures reach up to 54,000F. The temperatures keep dropping until you hit the clouds, where the temperature is -210F. At the surface of Jupiter, the gravitational pull is 2.4 times stronger than that of Earth. So, an object weighing 10 pounds on Earth, would weigh 24 pounds.
Jupiter’s Moons: Jupiter consists of 62 moons; 4 are large and 58 are small. Io, Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto are the four largest moons and are known as the Galilean moons. In our entire solar system, Ganymede is the largest moon and it is larger than Pluto and Mercury.
Io: (Discovered in 1610). Io consists of active volcanoes and it contains a rocky surface which is red and yellow. This color is due to the amount of sulfur that erupts from the many volcanoes that are across the landscape of the moon itself. Io also contains mountains that can reach up to 4 miles in height. The atmosphere of Io is extremely thin and consists mainly of sulfur dioxide (SO2).
Europa: (Discovered in 1610). Named after a Phoenician noble woman and is one of Jupiter’s Galilean moons. It is believed that under the surface of Europa, there is a layer of liquid water. It is primarily composed of silicate rock along with its thin outer layer of ice.
Ganymede: (Discovered in 1610). This is the largest moon in our solar system. It is covered with light and dark type terrains which mix across the surface of the moon. Many craters scour the surface of this planet in both types of the terrain. There is a dark plain located on the moon known as the Galileo Regio, where grooves and furrows cover the widespread surface. Ganymede also has polar caps that extend to 40 Latitude. An Ionosphere exists as the atmosphere. It is also the only moon in the atmosphere that possesses a magnetosphere.
Callisto: (Discovered in 1610). Callisto is the 2nd largest moon orbiting Jupiter and the 3rd largest in the Solar System. It is approximately the same size as Mercury. Callisto is infested with craters all across its surface showing that it is quite ancient and was formed over 4 billion years ago. Callisto has no known atmosphere and concentric rings. Callista has no prominent land forms compared to the other Galilean moons.
Cool Facts
Its diameter is 88,846 miles.
11 Earth’s fit across its diameter.
It would take 1,300 Earth’s to fill the volume of Jupiter.
2nd brightest planet in our solar system.
