Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun, the largest in the solar system. The streaks and swirls on its surface are cold, wind-blown clouds of ammonia and water. The atmosphere is mostly helium and hydrogen, and the famous Great Red Spot is a giant storm larger than Earth that lasts for hundreds of years. Jupiter is surrounded by 53 confirmed moons, as well as 14 temporary ones, for a total of 67. Scientists are most interested in the four largest objects discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei: Europa, Callisto, Ganymede and Io. Jupiter also has three rings, but they are very hard to see and not as elegant as those of Saturn. The planet is named after the supreme Roman god.
Comparative sizes of the Sun, Jupiter and Earth
The planet is removed from the luminary by an average of 778 million km, which is 5.2 astronomical units. At this distance, light takes 43 minutes to reach the gas giant. The size of Jupiter compared to the Sun is so impressive that their barycenter extends beyond the surface of the star by 0.068 of its radius. The planet is much larger than the Earth and much smallerdense. Their volume correlates as 1:1321, and their mass - as 1:318. From the center to the surface, the size of Jupiter in km is 69911. This is 11 times wider than our planet. The size of Jupiter and Earth can be compared as follows. If our planet was the size of a nickel, then the gas giant would be the size of a basketball. The size of the Sun and Jupiter in diameter are related as 10:1, and the mass of the planet is 0.001 of the mass of the luminary.
Orbit and rotation
The gas giant has the shortest day in the solar system. Despite the size of Jupiter, a day on the planet lasts about 10 hours. A year, or revolution around the Sun, takes about 12 Earth years. The equator is tilted with respect to its orbital trajectory by only 3 degrees. This means that Jupiter rotates almost vertically and does not have such pronounced changes in the seasons that occur on our and other planets.
Formation
The planet formed along with the entire solar system 4.5 billion years ago when gravity caused it to form from swirling dust and gas. Jupiter's size is due to the fact that it has captured most of the mass left after the formation of the star. Its volume is twice the rest of the matter of other objects in the solar system. It's made of the same stuff as a star, but the planet Jupiter hasn't grown in size enough to trigger a fusion reaction. About four billion years ago, the gas giant found itself in its current position in the outer solar system.
Structure
Jupiter's composition is similar to that of the sun - mostly helium and hydrogen. Deep in the atmosphere, pressure and temperature rise, compressing hydrogen gas into a liquid. Because of this, Jupiter has the largest ocean in the solar system, made up of hydrogen instead of water. Scientists believe that at depths, perhaps halfway to the center of the planet, the pressure becomes so great that electrons are squeezed out of hydrogen atoms, turning it into a liquid electrically conductive metal. The rapid rotation of the gas giant causes electric currents in it, generating a strong magnetic field. It is still unknown if the planet has a solid central core, or if it is a thick super-hot soup of iron and silicate minerals (like quartz) with temperatures up to 50,000 °C.
Surface
As a gas giant, Jupiter has no true surface. The planet consists mainly of rotating gases and liquids. Since the spacecraft can't land on Jupiter, it can't fly away unscathed either. Extreme pressures and temperatures deep inside the planet will crush, melt and vaporize a ship that tries to hit it.
Atmosphere
Jupiter looks like a colored tapestry of cloud bands and spots. The gas planet likely has three separate cloud layers in its "sky", which together span about 71 km. The top one consists of ammonia ice. The middle layer, most likely, is formed by ammonium hydrosulfide crystals, and the inner layer is formed by water ice and steam. Brightthe colors of the thick bands on Jupiter may be emissions of sulfur and phosphorus-containing gases rising from its interior. The rapid rotation of the planet creates strong eddy currents, dividing the clouds into long dark belts and light zones.
The lack of a solid surface to slow them down allows Jupiter's sunspots to persist for many years. The planet is covered by more than a dozen prevailing winds, some reaching speeds of 539 km / h at the equator. The Red Spot on Jupiter is twice the size of Earth. The formation of a swirling oval shape has been observed on the giant planet for more than 300 years. More recently, three small ovals formed a small Red Spot, about half the size of the larger cousin. Scientists do not yet know if these ovals and bands encircling the planet are shallow or extend far into the depths.
Potential for life
Jupiter's environment is probably not conducive to life as we know it. The temperatures, pressures and substances that characterize this planet are likely too extreme and lethal for living organisms. While Jupiter is an unlikely place for living beings, the same cannot be said for some of its many moons. Europa is one of the most likely places to search for life in our solar system. There is evidence of a vast ocean beneath the icy crust that could support life.
Satellites
Many small and four large satellites of Jupiter form the solar system in miniature. Planet 53confirmed satellites, as well as 14 temporary ones, for a total of 67. These newly discovered satellites have been reported by astronomers and have been given a temporary designation by the International Astronomical Union. Once their orbits are confirmed, they will be included in the permanent list.
The four largest moons - Europa, Io, Callisto and Ganymede - were first discovered in 1610 by astronomer Galileo Galilei using an early version of the telescope. These four moons represent one of the most exciting avenues of exploration today. Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Ganymede is the largest of them (even larger than the planet Mercury). Jupiter's second largest moon, Callisto, has few small craters, indicating little current surface activity. An ocean of liquid water with ingredients for life may lie beneath Europa's icy crust, making it a tempting subject to study.
Rings
Discovered in 1979 by NASA's Voyager 1, Jupiter's rings came as a surprise as they were made up of tiny dark particles that can only be seen against the sun. Data from the Galileo spacecraft suggests that the ring system may be formed by the dust of interplanetary meteoroids that crashed into small inner satellites.
Magnetosphere
The gas giant's magnetosphere is a region of space under the influence of the planet's powerful magnetic field. It extends over a distance of 1–3 million km toThe Sun, which is 7–21 times the size of Jupiter and narrows in the shape of a tadpole tail by 1 billion km, reaching the orbit of Saturn. The huge magnetic field is 16-54 times more powerful than the earth's. It rotates with the planet and captures particles that have an electric charge. Near Jupiter, it captures hordes of charged particles and accelerates them to very high energies, creating intense radiation that bombards nearby satellites and can damage spacecraft. The magnetic field causes some of the most spectacular auroras in the solar system at the planet's poles.
Research
Although Jupiter has been known since ancient times, the first detailed observations of this planet were made by Galileo Galilei in 1610 using a primitive telescope. And only recently it has been visited by spaceships, satellites and probes. The 10th and 11th Pioneers, the 1st and 2nd Voyagers were the first to fly to Jupiter in the 1970s, and then Galileo was sent into orbit of the gas giant, and a probe was lowered into the atmosphere. Cassini took detailed photographs of the planet on its way to nearby Saturn. The next Juno mission arrived at Jupiter in July 2016
Notable events
- 1610: Galileo Galilei made the first detailed observation of the planet.
- 1973: The first Pioneer 10 spacecraft crossed the asteroid belt and flew past the gas giant.
- 1979: Voyagers 1 and 2 discover new moons, rings and volcanic activity on Io.
- 1992: Ulysses flew past Jupiter on February 8th. Gravity changed the spacecraft's trajectory away from the plane of the ecliptic, bringing the probe into its final orbit above the south and north poles of the Sun.
- 1994: Comet Shoemaker-Levy collided in Jupiter's southern hemisphere.
- 1995-2003: The Galileo spacecraft dropped a probe into the gas giant's atmosphere and made long-term observations of the planet, its rings and moons.
- 2000: Cassini made its closest approach to Jupiter at a distance of approximately 10 million km, capturing a highly detailed color mosaic photograph of the gas giant.
- 2007: Images taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft on its way to Pluto show new perspectives on atmospheric storms, rings, volcanic Io and icy Europa.
- 2009: Astronomers observed the impact of a comet or asteroid on the planet's southern hemisphere.
- 2016: Launched in 2011, Juno arrived at Jupiter and began conducting in-depth studies of the planet's atmosphere, its deep structure and magnetosphere to unravel its origin and evolution.
Pop culture
Jupiter's sheer size rivals its significant presence in pop culture, including movies, TV shows, video games and comics. The gas giant became a prominent feature in the Wachowski sisters' sci-fi film Jupiter Ascending, and the planet's various moons became home to Cloud Atlas, Futurama, Halo, and many other films. In Men in Black, when Agent Jay (Will Smith) talks about one of thehis teacher seemed to be from Venus, Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) replied that she was actually from one of the moons of Jupiter.
