Home
Jupiter Main
Location and Orbit
Atmosphere and
Magnetosphere
Physical Structure
Moons and Rings
Missions to Jupiter
References & Links
Quiz
Related
Special Topic
Shoemaker-Levy 9
 |
The Giant Planet I am mightiest of all. Fasten a rope of gold to heaven and lay hold, every god and goddess. You could not drag down Jupiter. But wished I to drag you down, I could. -- Homer, The Illiad |
In myth, Jupiter was the awe-inspiring king of gods and men. The lord of the heavens, wielder of thunderbolts, bulwark of the Roman state, he was the hegemon of Olympus. His planetary namesake is no less impressive. More than twice as massive as the other planets combined, Jupiter contains over three hundred times the mass of the Earth. Jupiter is about as large as a planet can be. Even doubling its mass would only slightly increase its radius. This tremendous bulk compels sixteen satellites to orbit around it in what many astronomers see as a miniature solar system. Jupiter could have been a sun in the full sense of the word if the vast reservoir of hydrogen inside of it were ignited. As it is, it remains a huge fixture of our solar system, brilliantly colored, improbably sized, and guardian of some of the most interesting moons that we know of. In almost every sense of the word, Jupiter is exceptional, including the ease it and its moons can be seen with an amateur's telescope or binoculars.
|
Diameter: 142,800 km Density: 1,326 kg/m3 Period of Revolution about Sun: 11.86* Years (4,333 Days) Orbital Inclination: 1.30530o Orbital Eccentricity: 0.048393 * The approximation of 365.256 days per year is used. |
Location and Orbit Atmosphere and Magnetosphere Physical Structure Moons and Rings Missions to Jupiter References & Links Quiz Related Special Topic Shoemaker-Levy 9 |