Jupiter: Stormy Skies and 79 Moons
- Nguyen Khoa
- Jun 12
- 2 min read
What makes Jupiter a swirling powerhouse of storms and moons?
Introduction
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Its colorful cloud bands, robust winds, and signature Great Red Spot fascinated scientists for centuries. Yet a gas giant with no surface, it boasts an enormous impact on the solar system's balance.
What is it?
Jupiter is a gas giant composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. It is known to have huge storms, powerful magnetic fields, and at least four dozen moons. Despite its enormity, it rotates extremely rapidly—one day is less than 10 hours!
Size and Dsitance
Jupiter is 69,911 km in diameter—11 times Earth's diameter. Jupiter would be the size of a basketball if Earth were a grape. It is approximately 778 million km from the Sun (5.2 AU), and it takes 43 minutes for sunlight to reach it.
Orbit and Rotation
A day on Jupiter is only 9.9 hours, but a year is roughly 12 years on Earth. With only a 3° axis tilt, it doesn't experience strong seasons.
Moons and Rings
Jupiter has 95 moons, four of which are major ones called the Galilean moons:
Io: Largest number of volcanoes in the solar system
Europa: Crust of ice, possible subsurface ocean
Ganymede: Largest moon in the solar system
Callisto: Very ancient surface, may have an ocean
Jupiter also has faint rings made of dust, which were discovered in 1979.
Surface and Atmosphere
Because Jupiter is a gas giant, it does not possess a solid surface. A craft would be flattened and vaporized due to heat and pressure. Clouds are composed of ammonia and rotate in opposite directions in cloud bands. The Great Red Spot is a huge two times Earth-sized storm that has been burning for over 300 years.
Magnetosphere
Jupiter also has a highly concentrated magnetic field—up to 54 times Earth's strength. This produces powerful radiation and giant-sized auroras. Its magnetosphere reaches beyond Saturn's orbit, over 1 billion kilometers in the distance behind.
Formation and Structure
Jupiter emerged around 4.6 billion years ago. Its core may be composed of rock, metal, and gas. Inside, pressure liquefies hydrogen gas, and metallic hydrogen further in.
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Summary
Jupiter is the largest planet—11 times the width of Earth.
Its day is 9.9 hours; its year is 12 years on Earth.
It has 95 moons and delicate rings.
The Great Red Spot is a storm bigger than Earth.
Its magnetic field is 54 times the size of Earth's.
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