Planet Jupiter The Huge Ball Of Gas

Jupiter: The Huge Planet With a lot of Gas
By Natalie Schnotz

The planet Jupiter is the 5th planet from the sun and the largest inside our solar system. Jupiter is actually a giant planet with a lot of gas ( and when I say gas I am talking about it's encompassed by huge quantities of helium and hydrogen gases). Because Jupiter doesn't actually have a solid surface, and is known as a gas giant. Underneath the planet's outer atmosphere, there exists a large liquid sea of hydrogen and water. (But, by ocean I don't mean the sort of ocean you are able to float a boat on because, remember, there is no surface.) Nothing splits the ocean and enviroment, the atmosphere just slowly gets thicker and thicker until it simply becomes part of the sky.

Think you already know loads with regards to the planet Jupiter? The following are ten fun facts about the gas giant which you may not know.

1. What's in the Title?
Jupiter was named for the Roman God of the skies, the king of the gods within their myths. Jupiter is kind of the Roman equivalent of The Greek god Zeus - the lord of all the gods. Naming the fifth planet after the king of the gods is sensible; Jupiter is the largest planet in the sky … why not name it after someone with supreme power?

2. That is One Enormous Planet.
It's hard to really comprehend precisely how big Jupiter is. Jupiter pretty much makes Earth resemble a dwarf planet. If you had a ball that is close to the dimensions of a dime, Jupiter would be close to the dimensions of a soccer ball. About 1,300 Earths could fit inside Jupiter. Yep. It is THAT massive.

3. There's a lot of Mooning Going on.
Astronomers have located well over 60 moons orbiting around Jupiter. Galileo discovered the four largest and most well-known Jupiter moons - named Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, and Io - back in 1610. Lots of these moons were actually named after the daughters of the Roman god Jupiter. Four of the moons are in fact larger than {the ex-planet Pluto|Pluto|the furthest planet from the sun, Pluto.

4. Holy Frosty Conditions.
The temperature at Jupiter's cloud tops is around -148 °C. That implies, if I've done my math right, it's about -234 Fahrenheit. Did you catch that? -234 Fahrenheit. Holy frosty conditions. But, as you descend into the planet, the temperature raises. So, not merely is Jupiter a very cold planet, it's additionally a really hot one. When you get to the very core of the planet, researchers predict that the heat could possibly be reach as high as 36,000 Kelvin (that's 64,340 Fahrenheit).

5. {{Bling, Bling. Jupiter Got The RingJupiter Gots The RingsShowing Off The Bling With Jupiters Rings.
Bet you didn't know Jupiter has multiple rings. The planet actually has three slender rings across the equator. The rings are pretty light and can actually only been seen when Jupiter passes in front of the Sun. The light from the Sun fires up the smoke-sized particles and dust, allowing for us to view Gossamer, Main and Halo ( that's what the rings are named) from Earth.

6. Jupiter's a fast a Quick MoverJupiter Has SpeedPlanet Jupiter Can MoveJupiter Can SpinJupiter Has Moves.
One would think a planet as enormous as Jupiter would move really, really slowly. That is not the case the least bit. The planet can rotate very quickly - 9 hours and 55 minutes fast. But, even though it rotates really quickly, Jupiter takes almost 12 earth years to rotate completely around the Sun. Here's a unique fact, because Jupiter rotates so rapidly, it's actually flattened out a bit and it's bulging at the equator.

7. All Things Are Heavier on Jupiter.
In the event you are not pleased with what you weigh now, you really wouldn't love the opportunity to weigh yourself on Jupiter. Because Jupiter is so very big, it has a ton more gravity - making everything heavier. If you weigh 140 lbs on Earth, you'd weigh 370 pounds on Jupiter. (I think I'll stick to weighing myself on Earth.)

8. The Eye of Jupiter.
Jupiter is a pretty stormy planet. Actually, it's so stormy that a majority of of the storms don't ever end, or at least that's what researchers say. All of the storms in the atmosphere make Jupiter an attractive colorful planet.

Jupiter is known for having a 'Great Red Spot' - a place where a giant storm has long been raging on for longer than 300 years. This spot is additionally called 'The Eye of Jupiter' due to the shape. Oh yeah, which 'spot' is larger than the planet Earth, although experts say it is shrinking. Astronomers don't know if or when it is going to completely disappear.

9. Jupiter is Huge.
No, really, it's enormous. Like really massive. Jupiter is 318 times the mass of Earth. In case you combined the mass with all the different other planets within the Solar System and times that by 2.5 you would then get the mass of Jupiter. But, here's something intriguing and mind boggling at the same time. If Jupiter got anymore massive, it'd actually start to shrink. Adding more mass on the planet would cause it more dense and force it to start pulling in on itself.

10. That's One Bright Planet.
Jupiter stands out as the brightest object inside the Solar System … following Venus along with the Moon. Odds are, you have seen Jupiter in the sky and just had no clue that's what you were taking a look at. If you ever view a really bright star high up in the sky, chances are you are watching Jupiter.