Jupiter
Fifth planet from the Sun / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, and slightly less than one one-thousandth the mass of the Sun. Jupiter is the third brightest natural object in the Earth's night sky after the Moon and Venus, and it has been observed since prehistoric times. It was named after Jupiter, the chief deity of ancient Roman religion.
![]() Full disk view of Jupiter in natural color, with the shadow of its largest moon Ganymede cast onto it and the Great Red Spot at the left horizon. | |||||||||||||
Designations | |||||||||||||
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Pronunciation | /ˈdʒuːpɪtər/ (![]() | ||||||||||||
Named after | Jupiter | ||||||||||||
Adjectives | Jovian /ˈdʒoʊviən/ | ||||||||||||
Symbol | ![]() | ||||||||||||
Orbital characteristics[2] | |||||||||||||
Epoch J2000 | |||||||||||||
Aphelion | 816.363 Gm (5.4570 AU) | ||||||||||||
Perihelion | 740.595 Gm (4.9506 AU) | ||||||||||||
778.479 Gm (5.2038 AU) | |||||||||||||
Eccentricity | 0.0489 | ||||||||||||
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398.88 d | |||||||||||||
Average orbital speed | 13.07 km/s (8.12 mi/s) | ||||||||||||
20.020°[4] | |||||||||||||
Inclination | |||||||||||||
100.464° | |||||||||||||
21 January 2023[6] | |||||||||||||
273.867°[4] | |||||||||||||
Known satellites | 95 (as of 2023[update])[7] | ||||||||||||
Physical characteristics[2][8][9] | |||||||||||||
Mean radius | 69,911 km (43,441 mi)[lower-alpha 1] 10.973 of Earth's | ||||||||||||
Equatorial radius | 71,492 km (44,423 mi)[lower-alpha 1] 11.209 R🜨 (of Earth's) 0.10045 R☉ (of Sun's) | ||||||||||||
Polar radius | 66,854 km (41,541 mi)[lower-alpha 1] 10.517 of Earth's | ||||||||||||
Flattening | 0.06487 | ||||||||||||
6.1469×1010 km2 (2.3733×1010 sq mi) 120.4 of Earth's | |||||||||||||
Volume | 1.4313×1015 km3 (3.434×1014 cu mi)[lower-alpha 1] 1,321 of Earth's | ||||||||||||
Mass | 1.8982×1027 kg (4.1848×1027 lb)
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Mean density | 1,326 kg/m3 (2,235 lb/cu yd)[lower-alpha 2] | ||||||||||||
24.79 m/s2 (81.3 ft/s2)[lower-alpha 1] 2.528 g | |||||||||||||
0.2756±0.0006[11] | |||||||||||||
59.5 km/s (37.0 mi/s)[lower-alpha 1] | |||||||||||||
9.9258 h (9 h 55 m 33 s)[3] | |||||||||||||
9.9250 hours (9 h 55 m 30 s) | |||||||||||||
Equatorial rotation velocity | 12.6 km/s (7.8 mi/s; 45,000 km/h) | ||||||||||||
3.13° (to orbit) | |||||||||||||
North pole right ascension | 268.057°; 17h 52m 14s | ||||||||||||
North pole declination | 64.495° | ||||||||||||
Albedo | 0.503 (Bond)[12] 0.538 (geometric)[13] | ||||||||||||
Temperature | 88 K (−185 °C) (blackbody temperature) | ||||||||||||
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−2.94[14] to −1.66[14] | |||||||||||||
−9.4[15] | |||||||||||||
29.8" to 50.1" | |||||||||||||
Atmosphere[2] | |||||||||||||
Surface pressure | 200–600 kPa (30–90 psi) (opaque cloud deck)[16] | ||||||||||||
27 km (17 mi) | |||||||||||||
Composition by volume | |||||||||||||
Jupiter is primarily composed of hydrogen (90% by volume), followed by helium, which constitutes a quarter of its mass and a tenth of its volume. The ongoing contraction of Jupiter's interior generates more heat than the planet receives from the Sun. Because of its rapid rotation rate of 1 rotation per 10 hours, the planet's shape is an oblate spheroid: it has a slight but noticeable bulge around the equator. The outer atmosphere is divided into a series of latitudinal bands, with turbulence and storms along their interacting boundaries. The most obvious result of this is the Great Red Spot, a giant storm which has been observed since 1831 and possibly earlier.
Jupiter is surrounded by a faint planetary ring system and has a powerful magnetosphere, the largest contiguous structure in the Solar System after the heliosphere. Jupiter forms a system of 95 known moons and probably many more, including the four large moons discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Ganymede, the largest of the four, is larger than the planet Mercury. Callisto is the second largest; Io and Europa are approximately the size of Earth's Moon.
Since 1973, Jupiter has been visited by nine robotic probes: seven flybys and two dedicated orbiters, with two more either en route or awaiting launch.