Jupiter (planet)

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Photo of Jupiter from Voyager 1
Photo of Jupiter from Voyager 1

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun in our Solar System and the largest planet. It is so big it has greater mass than all the other seven planets combined.

It is a gas giant, which means it is made of gas.

Its gravititional force is much more than the Earth's. Its atmosphere contains helium but mostly hydrogen. It is named after Zeus, one of the mythological Roman gods.

By 2008, 63 moons had been found around Jupiter. It has 16 big moons. The four biggest moons are the Galilean moons; they are named Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. They were found by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610.

Jupiter's atmosphere and size gives it very high ground pressure levels. If a spacecraft was sent into Jupiter, it would be crushed in seconds. This is the main reason why so little is known about what is under its atmosphere. Jupiter also has three thin rings.

[edit] See also

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