Jupiter is the fifth planet in the solar system, belonging to the category of gas giants. Jupiter is five times the diameter of Uranus (51,800 km) and has a mass of 1.9×10^27 kg. Jupiter, like Saturn, has rings, but they are not clearly visible from space. In this article, we will get acquainted with some astronomical information and find out which planet is Jupiter.
Jupiter is a special planet
Interestingly, a star and a planet differ from each other in mass. Celestial bodies with a large mass become stars, and bodies with a smaller mass become planets. Jupiter, due to its enormous size, may well have been known to today's scientists as a star. However, during formation, he received an insufficient mass for a star. Therefore, Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.
When looking at the planet Jupiter through a telescope, you can see the dark bands and the light zones between them. In fact, such a picture is created by clouds.different temperatures: light clouds are colder than dark ones. From this we can conclude that the atmosphere of Jupiter can be seen through a telescope, and not its surface.
Jupiter often experiences aurora similar to those seen on Earth.
It is worth noting that the inclination of Jupiter's axis to the plane of its orbit does not exceed 3°. Therefore, for a long time nothing was known about the presence of the planet's ring system. The main ring of the planet Jupiter is very thin, and can be seen edge-on with telescopic observations, so it was difficult to see it. Scientists learned about its existence only after the launch of the Voyager spacecraft, which flew up to Jupiter at a certain angle and discovered rings near the planet.
Jupiter is considered a gas giant. Its atmosphere is mostly hydrogen. Helium, methane, ammonium and water are also present in the atmosphere. Astronomers suggest that behind the planet's cloudy layer and gas-liquid metallic hydrogen, it is quite possible to detect Jupiter's solid core.
Basic information about the planet
The solar system planet Jupiter has truly unique characteristics. The main data is presented in the following table.
| Diameter, km | 142 800 |
| Weight, kg | 1, 9×10^27 |
| Density, kg/m^3 | 1 330 |
| Rotation period | 9hrs 55mins |
| Distance from the Sun, AU(astronomical units) | 5,20 |
| The period of revolution around the Sun | 11, 86 |
| Orbit tilt | 1°, 3 |
Discovery of Jupiter
The discovery of Jupiter was made by the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610. Galileo is considered the first person to use a telescope to observe the cosmos and celestial bodies. The discovery of the fifth planet from the Sun - Jupiter - was one of the first discoveries of Galileo Galilei and served as a serious argument to confirm the theory of the heliocentric system of the world.
In the 60s of the seventeenth century, Giovanni Cassini was able to detect "bands" on the surface of the planet. As mentioned above, this effect is created due to the different temperatures of the clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere.
In 1955, scientists became aware that the matter of Jupiter emits a radio signal of high frequency. Thanks to this, the existence of a significant magnetic field around the planet was discovered.
In 1974, the Pioneer 11 probe flying to Saturn took several detailed pictures of the planet. In 1977-1779, much became known about the atmosphere of Jupiter, about atmospheric phenomena occurring on it, as well as about the planet's ring system.
And today, a careful study of the planet Jupiter and the search for new information about it continues.
Jupiter in mythology
In the mythology of Ancient Rome, Jupiter is the supreme god, the father of all gods. He owns the sky, daylight, rain and thunder,luxury and abundance, law and order and the possibility of healing, fidelity and purity of all living things. He is the king of heavenly and earthly beings. In ancient Greek mythology, the place of Jupiter is occupied by the almighty Zeus.
His father is Saturn (the god of the earth), his mother is Opa (the goddess of fertility and abundance), his brothers are Pluto and Neptune, and his sisters are Ceres and Vesta. His wife Juno is the goddess of marriage, family and motherhood. You can see that the names of many celestial bodies came from the ancient Romans.
As mentioned above, the ancient Romans considered Jupiter the highest, all-powerful god. Therefore, it was divided into separate incarnations, responsible for a certain power of God. For example, Jupiter Victor (victory), Jupiter Tonans (thunderstorm and rain), Jupiter Libertas (freedom), Jupiter Feretrius (god of war and victorious triumph) and others.
The Temple of Jupiter on Capitol Hill in ancient Rome was central to the faith and religion of the entire country. This once again proves the unshakable faith of the Romans in the dominance and majesty of the god Jupiter.
Jupiter also protected the inhabitants of Ancient Rome from the arbitrariness of emperors, guarded the sacred Roman laws, being the source and symbol of true justice.
It is also worth noting that the ancient Greeks called the planet, whose name was given in honor of Jupiter, Zeus. This is due to the differences in religion and faith of the inhabitants of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.
Great Red Spot
Sometimes rounded vortices appear in Jupiter's atmosphere. The Great Red Spot is the most famous of these eddies.which is also considered the largest in the solar system. Its existence was known to astronomers more than four hundred years ago.
The Great Red Spot measures 40×15,000 kilometers, more than three times the size of Earth.
The average temperature on the "surface" of the vortex is below -150°C. The composition of the spot has not yet been finally determined. It is assumed that it consists of hydrogen and ammonium, and sulfur and phosphorus compounds give it a red color. Also, some scientists believe that the spot turns red when it enters the ultraviolet radiation of the Sun.
It is worth noting that the existence of such stable atmospheric formations as the Great Red Spot is impossible in the Earth's atmosphere, which, as you know, consists mostly of oxygen (≈21%) and nitrogen (≈78%).
Moon of Jupiter
Jupiter itself is the largest satellite of the Sun - the main star of the solar system. Unlike the planet Earth, Jupiter has 69 moons, the largest number of moons in the entire solar system. Jupiter and its moons together make up a smaller version of the solar system: Jupiter, located in the center, and smaller celestial bodies dependent on it, rotating in their orbits.
Like the planet itself, some of Jupiter's moons were discovered by the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei. The satellites he discovered - Io, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto - are still called Galilean. The last satellite known to astronomers was discovered in 2017, so this number should not be considered final. In addition to the four discovered by Galileo, as well as Metis, Adrastea, Am althea and Thebes, the moons of Jupiter are not too large. And the other "neighbor" of Jupiter - the planet Venus - has not been found to have satellites at all. This table shows some of them.
| Satellite name | Diameter, km | Weight, kg |
| Elara | 86 | 8, 7 10^17 |
| Gelike | 4 | 9 10^13 |
| Jocaste | 5 | 1, 9 10^14 |
| Ananke | 28 | 3 10^16 |
| Karme | 46 | 1, 3 10^17 |
| Pacif | 60 | 3 10^17 |
| Himalia | 170 | 6, 7 10^18 |
| Leda | 10 | 1, 1 10^16 |
| Lisiteya | 36 | 6, 3 10^16 |
Let's consider the most important satellites of the planet - the results of the famous discovery of Galileo Galileo.
Io
Io is the fourth largest satellite of all planets in the solar system. Its diameter is 3,642 kilometers.
Of the four Galilean moons, Io is closest to Jupiter. A large number of volcanic processes take place on Io, so outwardly the satellite is very similar to pizza. Regular eruptions of numerous volcanoes periodically change the appearance of this celestial body.
Europe
Next satelliteJupiter - Europe. It is the smallest among the Galilean satellites (diameter - 3,122 km).
Europe's entire surface is covered with ice crust. Exact information has not yet been clarified, but scientists suggest that under this crust is ordinary water. Thus, the structure of this satellite somewhat resembles the structure of the Earth: a solid crust, liquid matter and a solid core located in the center.
The surface of Europa is also considered the flattest in the entire solar system. There is nothing on the satellite that rises more than 100 meters.
Ganymede
Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system. Its diameter is 5,260 kilometers, which even exceeds the diameter of the first planet from the Sun - Mercury. And the closest neighbor in the planetary system of Jupiter - the planet Mars - has a diameter reaching only 6,740 kilometers near the equator.
Watching Ganymede through a telescope, you can see separate light and dark areas on its surface. Astronomers have found that they are composed of cosmic ice and solid rocks. Sometimes traces of currents can be seen on the satellite.
Callisto
The Galilean satellite farthest from Jupiter is Callisto. Callisto ranks third in size among the satellites of the solar system (diameter - 4,820 km).
Callisto is the most cratered celestial body in the entire solar system. Craters on the surface of the satellite have different depths and colors, which indicatessufficient age Callisto. Some scientists even consider the surface of Callisto to be the "oldest" in the solar system, claiming that it has not been updated for more than 4 billion years.
Weather
What is the weather on the planet Jupiter? This question cannot be answered unambiguously. The weather on Jupiter is changeable and unpredictable, but scientists have been able to identify certain patterns in it.
As mentioned above, powerful atmospheric vortices (such as the Great Red Spot) appear above the surface of Jupiter. From this it follows that among the atmospheric phenomena of Jupiter, crushing hurricanes can be distinguished, the speed of which exceeds 550 kilometers per hour. The occurrence of such hurricanes is also influenced by clouds of different temperatures, which can be distinguished in numerous photographs of the planet Jupiter.
Also, observing Jupiter through a telescope, you can see the strongest storms and lightning shaking the planet. Such a phenomenon on the fifth planet from the Sun is considered permanent.
The temperature of Jupiter's atmosphere drops below -140°C, which is considered to be the limit for life forms known to mankind. In addition, the Jupiter visible to us consists only of a gaseous atmosphere, so astronomers still know little about the weather on the planet's solid surface.
Conclusion
So, in this article we got acquainted with the largest planet in the solar system - Jupiter. It became clear that if Jupiter, during its formation, had been given a slightly larger amount of energy,then our planetary system could be called "Sun-Jupiter" and depend on the two largest stars. However, Jupiter failed to become a star, and today it is considered the largest gas giant, the size of which is really amazing.
The planet itself was named after the ancient Roman sky god. But many other, terrestrial objects have been named after the planet itself. For example, the brand of Soviet tape recorders "Jupiter"; a sailing ship of the B altic Fleet at the beginning of the 19th century; brand of Soviet electric batteries "Jupiter"; battleship of the British Navy; film award approved in 1979 in Germany. Also in honor of the planet was named the famous Soviet motorcycle "IZH planet Jupiter", which marked the beginning of a whole series of road motorcycles. The manufacturer of this series of motorcycles is the Izhevsk Machine Building Plant.
Astronomy is one of the most interesting and unknown sciences of our time. Outer space surrounding our planet is a curious phenomenon that captures the imagination. Modern scientists are making new discoveries that allow us to find out previously unknown information. Therefore, it is extremely important to follow the discoveries of astronomers, because our life and the life of our planet is entirely subject to the laws of space.
