Jupiter
This is the biggest planet in our Solar system and the fourth brightest object in our sky. It has been known since prehistoric times. Galileo's discovery, in 1610, of Jupiter's four large moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto (now known as the Galilean Moons) was the first discovery of a center of motion not apparently centered on the Earth. It was a major point in favor of Copernicus's heliocentric theory of the motions of the planets. Galileo's outspoken support of the Copernican theory got him in trouble with the Inquisition.
| Distance from Sun: | |
|---|---|
| Mean: | 5.203 AU |
| Perihelion: | 740,900,000 km |
| Ahelion: | 815,700,000 km |
| Size: | |
| Volume: | 1.6016x1010 km3 |
| Diameter: | 142,800 km |
| Mass: | 1.9 x 1027 kg |
| Motion: | |
| Year: | 11.86 E Years |
| Day: | 0.4 E Days |
| Other: | |
| Density: | 1,314 kg per m3 |
| Surface Temperature: | -153°C or 120°K |
Jupiter is a big boy.
Jupiter is about 90% hydrogen and 10% helium (by numbers of atoms, 75/25% by mass) with traces of methane, water, ammonia and "rock". This is very close to the composition of the primordial Solar Nebula from which the entire solar system was formed. It also has upwards of 60 moons, see some of them here.
The Great Red Spot (GRS) has been seen by Earthly observers for more than 300 years (its discovery is usually attributed to Cassini, or Robert Hooke in the 17th century). The GRS is an oval about 12,000 by 25,000km, big enough to hold two Earths. Other smaller but similar spots have been known for decades.
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