This image of Jupiter was taken by Voyager 1. It shows the two satellites, Io and Europa.
This image of Jupiter's Red Spot was taken by Voyager 4.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and fifth from the sun. It is mostly made of hydrogen and helium and scientists believe that the temperature at it's core might be as much as 55,000 degrees Farenheit (30,500 degrees Celsius). Jupiter was formed over 4.5 billion years ago and might have given off 10 million times as much energy as it does now. It was never massive enough to begin the process stars use to burn off hydrogen, but might have glowed like a little star. Jupiter has a diameter of 88,700 miles (142,718 kilometers). Its rotation period (length of day) is 9 hours 50.4 minutes; and its period of orbit around the sun (length of year) is 11.86 Earth years. Jupiter has at least 16 moons! The surface gravity is 2.53 (multiply this number by your weight to find what you would weigh on Jupiter). Jupiter's distance from the sun (nearest-farthest) is 460.5-507.0 million miles (740.9-815.7 million kilometers). The least time it takes for light to travel to Earth is 32.75 minutes. Jupiter also has rings surrounding itself.
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