exploring the planets: jupiterphysical features jupiter is one of the four outer planets, along with...
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Exploring The Planets: Jupiter
New Horizons spacecraft took this collection of images of Jupiter and Io in 2007. Io is a volcanic moon that revolves around
Jupiter. Photo from: NASA.
Jupiter is the largest of the eight planets in our solar system and the fifth planet from the sun. It
is bigger than all the other planets put together. Jupiter travels around the sun at an average
distance of about 483 million miles.
Jupiter was named for the ruler of the ancient Roman gods. He was the equivalent of the
ancient Greek god Zeus. The ancient Romans did not know how large the planet was. The
name turned out to be fitting, though.
Jupiter is also one of the brightest objects in the night sky. Even a small telescope can reveal
its multicolored stripes. These are in fact bands of clouds being pushed around the planet by
strong winds. Jupiter is a world of complex weather patterns. Its most prominent feature is an
orange-red oval called the Great Red Spot. This spot is actually a long-lasting storm system
that is bigger across than Earth.
By Encyclopaedia Britannica, adapted by Newsela staff on 08.28.17
Word Count 691
Level 800L
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Physical Features
Jupiter is one of the four outer planets, along with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They are
much farther from the sun than Earth and the other inner planets are. Jupiter lies between the
main asteroid belt and Saturn. Like the other outer planets, it is much larger and less dense
than Earth.
Jupiter is so huge that it could contain more than 1,000 Earths. The distance through its center
is about 89,000 miles. Jupiter is a kind of planet called a gas giant. It consists almost entirely
of gases, mainly hydrogen and helium. The planet has no solid surface. Photographs of
Jupiter actually show its layers of clouds, not a surface. These clouds appear as colored spots
and bright and dark stripes.
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Deep inside Jupiter is an area of hot, thick liquid. The planet’s center may reach temperatures
of 45,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Surrounding the planet is a system of thin rings, which consist
of tiny rocks and dust. They are much smaller and dimmer than Saturn’s rings.
More than 60 moons orbit Jupiter. Most of them are very small. However, Jupiter has four very
large moons, named Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede. Ganymede is larger than the planet
Mercury. Scientists believe that Europa, Callisto and Ganymede may have water ice beneath
their surfaces.
Orbit And Spin
A year is the amount of time it takes a planet to make one full revolution around the sun. Earth
takes just over 365 days to make a full trip, so that is the length of a year on Earth. A year on
Jupiter lasts about 12 Earth years. That is because Jupiter is farther from the sun and takes
longer to travel around it.
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Jupiter also spins rapidly about its center. A single day is equal to the time it takes a planet to
make a full rotation. That is one complete spin on the planet's axis. Earth takes 24 hours to
make one full rotation. Jupiter spins much faster, taking only 10 hours to complete one
rotation. That is how long a day lasts on Jupiter.
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Observations And Exploration
People have observed Jupiter from Earth since ancient times. Scientists sent the first
unmanned spacecraft to the planet in the 1970s. The spacecraft flew by the planet and
collected information about it.
Later, the unmanned U.S. Galileo spacecraft orbited Jupiter. In 1995, it dropped an object
called a probe toward the planet. The probe sailed through the upper layers of Jupiter’s gases
and measured their properties. It was the first man-made object to make contact with a gas
giant.
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