Jupiter is the fifth planet in the solar system, belonging to the category of gas giants. five times the diameter of Uranus (51,800 km), and its mass is 1.9 × 10^27 kg. Jupiter, like Saturn, has rings, but they are not clearly visible from space. In this article, we will get acquainted with some astronomical information and find out which planet is Jupiter.

Jupiter is a special planet

Interestingly, the star and the planet differ from each other in mass. Celestial bodies with a large mass become stars, and bodies with a smaller mass become planets. Jupiter, due to its enormous size, may well have been known to today's scientists as a star. However, during formation, he received an insufficient mass for a star. Therefore, Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.

Looking at the planet Jupiter through a telescope, you can see dark bands and light zones between them. In fact, such a picture is created by clouds of different temperatures: light clouds are colder than dark ones. From this we can conclude that the telescope can see the atmosphere of Jupiter, and not its surface.

Jupiter often experiences auroras similar to those seen on Earth.

It should be noted that the inclination of Jupiter's axis to the plane of its orbit does not exceed 3°. Therefore, for a long time nothing was known about the presence of the planet's ring system. The main ring of the planet Jupiter is very thin, and can be seen edge-on with telescopic observations, so it was difficult to see it. Scientists learned about its existence only after the launch of the Voyager spacecraft, which flew up to Jupiter at a certain angle and discovered rings near the planet.

Jupiter is considered a gas giant. Its atmosphere is mostly hydrogen. Helium, methane, ammonium and water are also present in the atmosphere. Astronomers suggest that behind the planet's cloudy layer and gas-liquid metallic hydrogen, it is quite possible to detect Jupiter's solid core.

Basic information about the planet

The planet of the solar system Jupiter has truly unique characteristics. The main data is presented in the following table.

Discovery of Jupiter

Jupiter was discovered by the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610. Galileo is considered the first person to use a telescope to observe the cosmos and celestial bodies. The discovery of the fifth planet from the Sun - Jupiter - was one of the first discoveries of Galileo Galilei and served as a serious argument to confirm the theory of the heliocentric system of the world.

In the 60s of the seventeenth century, Giovanni Cassini was able to detect "bands" on the surface of the planet. As mentioned above, this effect is created due to the different temperatures of the clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere.

In 1955, scientists became aware that the matter of Jupiter emits a high-frequency radio signal. Thanks to this, the existence of a significant magnetic field around the planet was discovered.

In 1974, the Pioneer 11 probe flying to Saturn took several detailed pictures of the planet. In 1977-1779, much became known about the atmosphere of Jupiter, about atmospheric phenomena occurring on it, as well as about the planet's ring system.

And today, a careful study of the planet Jupiter and the search for new information about it continues.

Jupiter in mythology

In mythology ancient rome Jupiter is the supreme god, the father of all gods. He owns the sky, daylight, rain and thunder, luxury and abundance, law and order and the possibility of healing, fidelity and purity of all living things. He is the king of heavenly and earthly beings. In ancient Greek mythology, the place of Jupiter is occupied by the almighty Zeus.

His father is the earth), his mother is Opa (the goddess of fertility and abundance), his brothers are Pluto and Neptune, and his sisters are Ceres and Vesta. His wife Juno is the goddess of marriage, family and motherhood. You can see that the names of many celestial bodies appeared thanks to the ancient Romans.

As mentioned above, the ancient Romans considered Jupiter the highest, all-powerful god. Therefore, it was divided into separate incarnations, responsible for a certain power of God. For example, Jupiter Victor (victory), Jupiter Tonans (thunderstorm and rain), Jupiter Libertas (freedom), Jupiter Feretrius (god of war and victorious triumph) and others.

On a hill, the Capitol in Ancient Rome was central to the faith and religion of the entire country. This once again proves the unshakable faith of the Romans in the dominance and majesty of the god Jupiter.

Jupiter also protected the inhabitants of Ancient Rome from the arbitrariness of emperors, guarded the sacred Roman laws, being the source and symbol of true justice.

It is also worth noting that the ancient Greeks called the planet, whose name was given in honor of Jupiter, Zeus. This is due to the differences in religion and faith of the inhabitants of ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.

Sometimes in the atmosphere of Jupiter there are vortices that have a rounded shape. The Great Red Spot is the most famous of these eddies, and is also considered the largest in solar system. Its existence was known to astronomers more than four hundred years ago.

The size of the Great Red Spot - 40 × 15,000 kilometers - is more than three times the size of the Earth.

The average temperature on the "surface" of the vortex is below -150°C. The composition of the spot has not yet been finally determined. It is assumed that it consists of hydrogen and ammonium, and sulfur and phosphorus compounds give it a red color. Also, some scientists believe that the spot turns red when it enters the zone of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.

It should be noted that the existence of such stable atmospheric formations as the Great Red Spot is impossible in earth's atmosphere, which, as is known, consists mostly of oxygen (≈21%) and nitrogen (≈78%).

Moons of Jupiter

Jupiter itself is the largest main star solar system. Unlike the planet Earth, Jupiter has 69 moons, the largest number of moons in the entire solar system. Jupiter and its moons together make up a smaller version of the solar system: Jupiter, located in the center, and smaller celestial bodies dependent on it, rotating in their orbits.

Like the planet itself, some of Jupiter's moons were discovered by the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei. The satellites he discovered - Io, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto - are still called Galilean. The last satellite known to astronomers was discovered in 2017, so this number should not be considered final. In addition to the four discovered by Galileo, as well as Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea and Thebes, the moons of Jupiter are not too large. And the other "neighbor" of Jupiter - the planet Venus - has not been found to have satellites at all. This table shows some of them.

Consider the most important satellites of the planet - the results of the famous discovery of Galileo Galileo.

And about

Io is the fourth largest satellite of all the planets in the solar system. Its diameter is 3,642 kilometers.

Of the four Galilean moons, Io is closest to Jupiter. A large number of volcanic processes take place on Io, so outwardly the satellite is very similar to pizza. Regular eruptions of numerous volcanoes periodically change the appearance of this celestial body.

Europe

Jupiter's next moon is Europa. It is the smallest among the Galilean satellites (diameter - 3122 km).

The entire surface of Europa is covered with an ice crust. Exact information has not yet been clarified, but scientists suggest that under this crust is ordinary water. Thus, the structure of this satellite somewhat resembles the structure of the Earth: a solid crust, liquid matter and a solid core located in the center.

The surface of Europa is also considered the flattest in the entire solar system. There is nothing on the satellite that rises more than 100 meters.

Ganymede

Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system. Its diameter is 5,260 kilometers, which even exceeds the diameter of the first planet from the Sun - Mercury. And the closest neighbor in the planetary system of Jupiter - the planet Mars - has a diameter reaching only 6,740 kilometers near the equator.

When observing Ganymede through a telescope, one can notice separate light and dark areas on its surface. Astronomers have found that they are folded space ice and hard rocks. Sometimes on the satellite you can see traces of currents.

Callisto

The Galilean satellite farthest from Jupiter is Callisto. Callisto ranks third in size among the satellites of the solar system (diameter - 4,820 km).

Callisto is the most cratered celestial body in the entire solar system. Craters on the surface of the satellite have different depths and colors, which indicates a sufficient age of Callisto. Some scientists even consider the surface of Callisto to be the "oldest" in the solar system, claiming that it has not been updated for more than 4 billion years.

Weather

What is the weather like on the planet Jupiter? This question cannot be answered unambiguously. The weather on Jupiter is unstable and unpredictable, but scientists have been able to identify certain patterns in it.

As mentioned above, powerful atmospheric vortices (such as the Great Red Spot) arise above the surface of Jupiter. From this it follows that among the atmospheric phenomena of Jupiter, crushing hurricanes can be distinguished, the speed of which exceeds 550 kilometers per hour. The formation of such hurricanes is also influenced by clouds. different temperatures, which can be distinguished in numerous photographs of the planet Jupiter.

Also, observing Jupiter through a telescope, you can see the strongest storms and lightning shaking the planet. Such a phenomenon on the fifth planet from the Sun is considered permanent.

The temperature of Jupiter's atmosphere drops below -140 ° C, which is considered prohibitive for life forms known to mankind. In addition, Jupiter, visible to us, consists only of a gaseous atmosphere, so astronomers still know little about the weather on the planet's solid surface.

Conclusion

So, in this article, we got acquainted with the most big planet Solar system - Jupiter. It became clear that if Jupiter, during its formation, had been given a slightly larger amount of energy, then our planetary system could be called "Sun-Jupiter" and depend on two biggest stars. However, Jupiter failed to turn into a star, and today it is considered the largest gas giant, the size of which is really amazing.

The planet itself was named after the ancient Roman sky god. But many other, terrestrial objects have been named after the planet itself. For example, the brand of Soviet tape recorders "Jupiter"; sailing ship of the Baltic Fleet early XIX century; brand of Soviet electric batteries "Jupiter"; battleship of the British Navy; film award approved in 1979 in Germany. Also in honor of the planet was named the famous Soviet motorcycle "IZH planet Jupiter", which marked the beginning of a whole series of road motorcycles. The manufacturer of this series of motorcycles is the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant.

Astronomy is one of the most interesting and unknown sciences of our time. Outer space surrounding our planet is a curious phenomenon that captures the imagination. Modern scientists are making new discoveries that allow us to find out previously unknown information. Therefore, it is extremely important to follow the discoveries of astronomers, because our life and the life of our planet is entirely subject to the laws of space.

Jupiter, a large red spot just below the center.

Jupiter, like all giants, consists mainly of a mixture of gases. The gas giant is 2.5 times more massive than all the planets combined, or 317 times the size of Earth. There are many other interesting facts about the planet and we will try to tell them.

Jupiter from a distance of 600 million km. from the earth. Below you can see the trace of the fall of the asteroid.

As you know, Jupiter is the largest in the solar system, and it has 79 moons. Several space probes visited the planet, which studied it from a flyby trajectory. And the Galileo spacecraft, having entered its orbit, studied it for several years. The most recent was the New Horizons probe. After the flyby of the planet, the probe received additional acceleration and headed towards its final goal - Pluto.

Jupiter has rings. They are not as big and beautiful as those of Saturn, because they are thinner and weaker. The Great Red Spot is a giant storm that has been raging for over three hundred years! Despite the fact that the planet Jupiter is truly huge in size, it did not have enough mass to become a full-fledged star.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere of the planet is huge, its chemical composition is 90% hydrogen and 10% helium. Unlike Earth, Jupiter is a gas giant and does not have a clear boundary between the atmosphere and the rest of the planet. If you could go down to the center of the planet, then the density and temperature of hydrogen and helium would begin to change. Scientists distinguish layers based on these features. Layers of the atmosphere in descending order from the core: troposphere, stratosphere, thermosphere and exosphere.

Animation of the rotation of the atmosphere of Jupiter assembled from 58 frames

Jupiter does not have a solid surface, so for some conditional "surface" scientists determine the lower boundary of its atmosphere at the point where the pressure is 1 bar. The temperature of the atmosphere at this point, like that of the Earth, decreases with height until it reaches a minimum. The tropopause defines the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere - it is about 50 km above the conditional "surface" of the planet.

Stratosphere

The stratosphere rises to a height of 320 km and the pressure continues to decrease while the temperature rises. This altitude marks the boundary between the stratosphere and the thermosphere. The temperature of the thermosphere rises to 1000 K at an altitude of 1000 km.

All clouds and storms that we can see are located in the lower part of the troposphere and are formed from ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and water. In fact, the visible relief of the surface forms the lower cloud layer. The top layer of clouds contains ammonia ice. The lower clouds are composed of ammonium hydrosulfide. Water forms clouds located below the dense layers of clouds. The atmosphere gradually and smoothly passes into the ocean, which flows into metallic hydrogen.

The planet's atmosphere is the largest in the solar system and consists mainly of hydrogen and helium.

Compound

Jupiter contains small amounts of compounds such as methane, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and water. This mixture chemical compounds and elements, contributes to the formation of colorful clouds that we can observe in telescopes. It is impossible to say unequivocally what color Jupiter is, but approximately it is red-white with stripes.

Clouds of ammonia, which are visible in the atmosphere of the planet, form a set of parallel bands. Dark bands are called belts and alternate with light bands, which are known as zones. These zones are thought to be composed of ammonia. It is not yet known what causes the dark color of the stripes.

big red spot

You may have noticed that there are various ovals and circles in its atmosphere, the largest of which is the Great Red Spot. These are whirlwinds and storms that rage in a highly unstable atmosphere. The vortex can be cyclonic or anticyclonic. Cyclonic eddies usually have centers where the pressure is lower than outside. Anticyclonics are those that have centers of higher pressure than outside the vortex.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) is an atmospheric storm that has been raging in the Southern Hemisphere for 400 years. Many believe that Giovanni Cassini first observed it in the late 1600s, but scientists doubt that it formed at that time.

About 100 years ago, this storm was over 40,000 km across. It is currently being reduced in size. At the current rate of contraction, it could become circular by 2040. Scientists doubt this will happen because the influence of nearby jet streams could completely change the picture. It is not yet known how long the change in its size will last.

What is BKP?

The Great Red Spot is an anticyclonic storm, and since we have observed it, it has maintained its shape for several centuries. It is so huge that it can be observed even from terrestrial telescopes. Scientists have yet to figure out what causes its reddish color.

Little Red Spot

Another large red spot was found in 2000 and has been growing steadily ever since. Like the Great Red Spot, it is also anticyclonic. Due to its resemblance to the BKP, this red spot (which is worn by legal name Oval) is often referred to as the "Little Red Spot" or "Little Red Spot".

Unlike eddies, which persist for a long time, storms are more short-lived. Many of them can exist for several months, but, on average, they last for 4 days. The occurrence of storms in the atmosphere culminates every 15-17 years. Storms are accompanied by lightning, just like on Earth.

BKP rotation

The BKP rotates counterclockwise and makes a complete revolution every six earth days. The spot rotation period has decreased. Some believe that this is the result of its compression. Winds at the very edge of the storm reach speeds of 432 km/h. The spot is large enough to swallow up three Earths. Infrared data show that the BKP is colder and at a higher altitude than most other clouds. The edges of the storm rise about 8 km above the surrounding cloud tops. Its position shifts east and west quite often. The spot has crossed the planet's belts at least 10 times since the early 19th century. And the speed of its drift has changed dramatically over the years, it was associated with the southern equatorial belt.

BKP color

BKP image of Voyager

It is not known exactly what causes the color of the Great Red Spot. The most popular theory supported by laboratory experiments is that color can be caused by complex organic molecules, for example, red phosphorus or sulfur compounds. BKP varies greatly in color from almost brick red to light red and white. The red central region is 4 degrees warmer than environment, this is considered proof that environmental factors influence the color.

As you can see, the red spot is a rather mysterious object, it is the subject of a large future study. Scientists hope that they will be able to better understand our giant neighbor, because the planet Jupiter and the Great Red Spot are some of the greatest mysteries of our solar system.

Why Jupiter is not a star

It lacks the mass and heat needed to start fusing hydrogen atoms into helium, so it cannot become a star. Scientists have calculated that Jupiter must increase its current mass by about 80 times in order to ignite thermonuclear fusion. But nevertheless, the planet releases heat due to gravitational contraction. This reduction in volume ultimately heats up the planet.

Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism

This generation of heat in excess of what it absorbs from the Sun is called the Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism. This mechanism takes place when the planet's surface cools, which causes a pressure drop and the body shrinks. Compression (reduction) heats up the core. Scientists have calculated that Jupiter radiates more energy than it receives from the Sun. Saturn shows the same mechanism of its heating, but not so much. Brown dwarf stars also show the Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism. The mechanism was originally proposed by Kelvin and Helmholtz to explain the energy of the Sun. One consequence of this law is that the Sun must have an energy source that allows it to shine for more than a few million years. At that time, nuclear reactions were not known, so the source of solar energy was considered to be gravitational contraction. This was until the 1930s, when Hans Bethe proved that the sun's energy comes from nuclear fusion and lasts for billions of years.

A related question that is often asked is whether Jupiter can acquire enough mass in the near future to become a star. All the planets, dwarf planets, and asteroids in the solar system cannot give it the required amount of mass, even if it consumes everything in the solar system except the sun. Thus, he will never become a star.

Let's hope that the JUNO (Juno) mission, which will arrive at the planet by 2016, will provide specific information about the planet on most issues of interest to scientists.

Weight on Jupiter

If you're worried about your weight, keep in mind that Jupiter has a much larger mass than the Earth and its gravity is much stronger. By the way, on the planet Jupiter, gravity is 2.528 times more intense than on Earth. This means that if you weigh 100 kg on Earth, then your weight on the gas giant would be 252.8 kg.

Because its gravity is so intense, it has quite a few moons, as many as 67 moons to be precise, and their number can change at any moment.

Rotation

Atmospheric rotation animation made from Voyager images

Our gas giant is the fastest rotating planet of all in the solar system, it makes one rotation around its axis every 9.9 hours. Unlike the inner planets of the Earth group, Jupiter is a ball composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. Unlike Mars or Mercury, it doesn't have a surface that can be tracked to measure rotational speed, and it doesn't have any craters or mountains that come into view after a certain amount of time.

Influence of rotation on the size of the planet

Rapid rotation results in a difference between the equatorial and polar radii. Instead of looking like a sphere, due to the rapid rotation, the planet looks like a squashed ball. The bulge of the equator is visible even in small amateur telescopes.

The polar radius of the planet is 66,800 km, and the equatorial one is 71,500 km. In other words, the equatorial radius of the planet is 4700 km larger than the polar one.

Rotation characteristics

Despite the fact that the planet is a ball of gas, it rotates differentially. That is, the rotation takes different amount time depending on where you are. The rotation at its poles takes 5 minutes longer than at the equator. Therefore, the often cited rotation period of 9.9 hours is, in fact, the average sum for the entire planet.

Rotation Reference Systems

Scientists actually use three different systems to calculate the planet's rotation. The first system for a latitude of 10 degrees north and south of the equator is a rotation of 9 hours and 50 minutes. The second, for latitudes north and south of this region, where the rotation speed is 9 hours 55 minutes. These indicators are measured for a specific storm that is in view. The third system measures the rate of rotation of the magnetosphere and is generally considered the official rate of rotation.

Planet gravity and comet

In the 1990s, Jupiter's gravity tore apart the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and its fragments fell to the planet. This was the first time that we had the opportunity to observe the collision of two extraterrestrial bodies in the solar system. Why did Jupiter pull Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 towards it, you ask?

The comet had the imprudence to fly in close proximity to the giant, and its powerful gravity pulled it towards itself due to the fact that Jupiter is the most massive in the solar system. The planet captured the comet about 20-30 years before the impact, and it has been orbiting the giant ever since. In 1992, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 entered the Roche limit and was torn apart by the planet's tidal forces. The comet looked like a string of pearls when its fragments crashed into the planet's cloud layer on July 16-22, 1994. Fragments up to 2 km in size each entered the atmosphere at a speed of 60 km/s. This collision allowed astronomers to make several new discoveries about the planet.

What did the collision with the planet give

Astronomers, thanks to the collision, discovered several chemicals in the atmosphere that were not known before the impact. Diatomic sulfur and carbon disulfide were the most interesting. This was only the second time that diatomic sulfur had been detected on celestial bodies. It was then that ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were first discovered on the gas giant. Images from Voyager 1 showed the giant in a whole new light, as data from Pioneer 10 and 11 were not so informative, and all subsequent missions were built on the basis of data received by the Voyagers.

Collision of an asteroid with a planet

Short description

The influence of Jupiter on all the planets is manifested in one form or another. It is strong enough to tear apart asteroids and hold 79 satellites. Some scientists believe that such a large planet could destroy many celestial objects in the past, and also prevented the formation of other planets.

Jupiter requires more careful study than scientists can afford, and it interests astronomers for many reasons. Its satellites are the main gem for explorers. The planet has 79 satellites, which is actually 40% of all satellites in our solar system. Some of these moons are larger than some dwarf planets and contain subterranean oceans.

Structure

Internal structure

Jupiter has a core that contains some rock and metallic hydrogen that takes on this unusual shape under tremendous pressure.

Recent data indicate that the giant contains a dense core, which is believed to be surrounded by a layer of liquid metallic hydrogen and helium, and the outer layer is dominated by molecular hydrogen. Gravitational measurements indicate a core mass between 12 and 45 Earth masses. This means that the core of the planet is about 3-15% of the total mass of the planet.

Formation of a giant

IN early history Jupiter must have formed entirely of rock and ice with enough mass to trap most of the gases in the early solar nebula. Therefore, its composition completely repeats the mixture of gases of the protosolar nebula.

Current theory believes that the core layer of dense metallic hydrogen extends over 78 percent of the planet's radius. Just above the layer of metallic hydrogen extends an inner atmosphere of hydrogen. In it, hydrogen is at a temperature where there is no clear liquid and gas phases; in fact, it is in the supercritical state of a liquid. The temperature and pressure steadily increases as you approach the core. In the region where hydrogen becomes metallic, the temperature is considered to be 10,000 K and the pressure is 200 GPa. The maximum temperature at the core boundary is estimated at 36,000 K with a corresponding pressure of 3000 to 4500 GPa.

Temperature

Its temperature, considering how far it is from the Sun, is much lower than on Earth.

The outer edges of Jupiter's atmosphere are much colder than the central region. The temperature in the atmosphere is -145 degrees Celsius, and the intense atmospheric pressure contributes to an increase in temperature as you descend. Having plunged several hundred kilometers deep into the planet, hydrogen becomes its main component, it is hot enough to turn into a liquid (because the pressure is high). Temperatures at this point are believed to be over 9,700 C. A layer of dense metallic hydrogen extends up to 78% of the planet's radius. Near the very center of the planet, scientists believe that the temperature can reach 35,500 C. Between the cold clouds and the molten lower sections is an inner atmosphere of hydrogen. In the inner atmosphere, the temperature of hydrogen is such that there is no boundary between the liquid and gas phases.

The planet's molten interior heats the rest of the planet through convection, so the giant emits more heat than it receives from the sun. Storms and strong winds mix cold air and warm air just like on Earth. The Galileo spacecraft observed winds speeding in excess of 600 km per hour. One of the differences from Earth is that there are jet streams on the planet that control storms and winds, they are driven by the planet's own heat.

Is there life on the planet?

As you can see from the data above, the physical conditions on Jupiter are quite harsh. Some are wondering if the planet Jupiter is habitable, is there life there? But we will disappoint you: without a solid surface, the presence of huge pressure, the simplest atmosphere, radiation and low temperature, life on the planet is impossible. The subglacial oceans of its satellites are another matter, but this is a topic for another article. In fact, the planet cannot support life or contribute to its origin, according to modern views on this issue.

Distance to Sun and Earth

The distance to the Sun at perihelion (nearest point) is 741 million km, or 4.95 astronomical units (AU). At aphelion (the most distant point) - 817 million km, or 5.46 a.u. It follows from this that the semi-major axis is 778 million km, or 5.2 AU. with an eccentricity of 0.048. Remember that one astronomical unit (AU) is equal to the average distance from the Earth to the Sun.

Orbital period

The planet needs 11.86 Earth years (4331 days) to complete one revolution around the Sun. The planet rushes along its orbit at a speed of 13 km/s. Its orbit is slightly inclined (about 6.09°) compared to the plane of the ecliptic (the solar equator). Despite the fact that Jupiter is located quite far from the Sun, it is the only celestial body that has a common center of mass with the Sun, which is outside the radius of the Sun. The gas giant has a slight axial tilt of 3.13 degrees, which means the planet has no discernible change in seasons.

Jupiter and Earth

When Jupiter and Earth are closest to each other, they are separated by 628.74 million kilometers of outer space. At the most distant point from each other, they are separated by 928.08 million km. In astronomical units, these distances range from 4.2 to 6.2 AU.

All planets move in elliptical orbits, when the planet is closer to the Sun, this part of the orbit is called perihelion. When next - aphelion. The difference between perihelion and aphelion determines how eccentric the orbit is. Jupiter and Earth have two of the least eccentric orbits in our solar system.

Some scientists believe that Jupiter's gravity creates tidal effects that could cause an increase in sunspots. If Jupiter approached the Earth for a couple of hundred million kilometers, then the Earth would have had a hard time under the influence of the powerful gravity of the giant. It is easy to understand how it can cause tidal effects, given that its mass is 318 times that of the Earth. Fortunately, Jupiter is at a respectful distance from us, without causing inconvenience and at the same time protecting us from comets, attracting them to itself.

Position in the sky and observation

In fact, the gas giant is the third brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus. If you want to know where the planet Jupiter is in the sky, then most often it is closer to the zenith. In order not to confuse it with Venus, keep in mind that it does not move further than 48 degrees from the Sun, so it does not rise very high.

Mars and Jupiter are also two enough bright object, especially at opposition, but Mars gives off a reddish tint, so it's hard to confuse them. They can both be in opposition (closest to Earth), so either go by color or use binoculars. Saturn, despite the similarity of the structure, is quite different in brightness due to the large distance, so it is difficult to confuse them. With a small telescope at your disposal, Jupiter will appear to you in all its glory. When observing it, 4 small dots (Galilean satellites) that surround the planet immediately catch the eye. Jupiter in a telescope looks like a striped ball, and even in a small instrument its oval shape is visible.

Being in the sky

Using a computer, it is not at all difficult to find it; the common Stellarium program is suitable for these purposes. If you do not know what kind of object you are observing, then knowing the cardinal directions, your location and time, the Stellarium program will give you an answer.

When observing it, we have an amazing opportunity to see such unusual phenomena as the passage of the shadows of satellites across the disk of the planet or the eclipse of a satellite by a planet, in general, look into the sky more often, there are many interesting and successful searches for Jupiter! To make it easier to navigate astronomical events, use .

A magnetic field

The Earth's magnetic field is created by its core and dynamo effect. Jupiter has a truly enormous magnetic field. Scientists are sure that it has a rock / metal core and thanks to this the planet has magnetic field, which is 14 times stronger than that of the Earth and contains 20,000 times more energy. Astronomers believe that the magnetic field is generated by metallic hydrogen near the center of the planet. This magnetic field traps ionized solar wind particles and accelerates them to almost the speed of light.

Magnetic field voltage

The gas giant's magnetic field is the most powerful in our solar system. It varies from 4.2 gauss (a unit of magnetic induction equals one ten-thousandth of a tesla) at the equator to 14 gauss at the poles. The magnetosphere extends seven million kilometers towards the Sun and towards the edge of Saturn's orbit.

Form

The planet's magnetic field is shaped like a doughnut (toroid) and contains the vast equivalents of the Van Allen belts on Earth. These belts are a trap for high-energy charged particles (mainly protons and electrons). The rotation of the field corresponds to the rotation of the planet and is approximately equal to 10 hours. Some of Jupiter's moons interact with the magnetic field, in particular the moon Io.

It has several active volcanoes on the surface that are spewing gas and volcanic particles into space. These particles eventually diffuse into the rest of the space surrounding the planet and become the main source of charged particles trapped in Jupiter's magnetic field.

The radiation belts of the planet are a torus of energetic charged particles (plasma). They are held in place by a magnetic field. Most of the particles that form the belts come from the solar wind and cosmic rays. The belts are located in the inner region of the magnetosphere. There are several different belts containing electrons and protons. In addition, the radiation belts contain smaller amounts of other nuclei, as well as alpha particles. The belts pose a danger to spacecraft, which must protect their sensitive components with adequate shielding if they travel through the radiation belts. Around Jupiter radiation belts very strong and a spacecraft that flies through them needs additional special protection to save sensitive electronics.

Polar lights on the planet

X-ray

The planet's magnetic field creates some of the most spectacular and active auroras in the solar system.

On Earth, auroras are caused by charged particles ejected from solar storms. Some are created in the same way, but he has another way to get aurora. The planet's rapid rotation, intense magnetic field, and abundant source of particles from Io's active volcanic moon create a huge reservoir of electrons and ions.

Patera Tupana volcano on Io

These charged particles, captured by the magnetic field, are constantly accelerated and enter the atmosphere above the polar regions, where they collide with gases. As a result of such collisions, auroras are obtained, which we cannot observe on Earth.

Jupiter's magnetic fields are believed to interact with almost every body in the solar system.

How is the length of the day calculated?

Scientists have calculated the length of the day from the speed of the planet's rotation. And the earliest attempts were to watch storms. Scientists found a suitable storm and measured its speed of rotation around the planet to get an idea of ​​the length of the day. The problem was that Jupiter's storms change at a very fast pace, making them inaccurate sources of the planet's rotation. After the radio emission from the planet was detected, scientists calculated the planet's rotation period and its speed. While the planet rotates at different speeds in different parts, the speed of rotation of the magnetosphere remains the same and is used as the official speed of the planet.

Origin of the planet's name

The planet has been known since ancient times and was named after a Roman god. At that time, the planet had many names and throughout the history of the Roman Empire, it was given most attention. The Romans named the planet after their king of the gods, Jupiter, who was also the god of the sky and thunder.

In Roman mythology

In the Roman pantheon, Jupiter was the god of the sky and was the central god in the Capitoline triad along with Juno and Minerva. He remained the main official deity of Rome throughout the republican and imperial eras, until the pagan system was replaced by Christianity. He personified divine power and high positions in Rome, the internal organization for external relations: his image in the republican and imperial palace meant a lot. The Roman consuls swore allegiance to Jupiter. To thank him for his help and enlist his constant support, they prayed to the statue of a bull with gilded horns.

How planets are named

A picture of the Cassini apparatus (on the left is the shadow from the Europa satellite)

This is a common practice when planets, moons and many others celestial bodies, are assigned names from Greek and Roman mythology, and are also assigned a specific astronomical symbol. Some examples: Neptune is the god of the sea, Mars is the god of war, Mercury is the messenger, Saturn is the God of Time and the father of Jupiter, Uranus is the father of Saturn, Venus is the goddess of love and the earth, and the earth is only a planet, this goes against the Greco-Roman tradition. We hope that the origin of the name of the planet Jupiter will no longer cause you questions.

Opening

Were you curious to know who discovered the planet? Unfortunately, there is no reliable way to find out how and by whom it was discovered. It is one of the 5 planets visible to the naked eye. If you go outside and see a bright star in the sky, this is probably it. its brightness is greater than any star, only Venus is brighter than it. Thus, ancient people have known about it for several thousand years and there is no way to know when the first man noticed this planet.

Maybe a better question to ask is when did we realize that Jupiter is a planet? In ancient times, astronomers thought that the Earth was the center of the universe. It was a geocentric model of the world. The sun, moon, planets and even stars all revolved around the earth. But there was one thing that was difficult to explain this strange movement of the planets. They moved in one direction and then stopped and moved back, the so-called retrograde movement. Astronomers have created more and more complex models to explain these strange movements.

Copernicus and the heliocentric model of the world

In the 1500s, Nicolaus Copernicus developed his heliocentric model of the solar system, where the Sun became the center and the planets, including the Earth, revolved around it. This beautifully explained the strange movements of the planets in the sky.

The first person to actually see Jupiter was Galileo, and he did it with the first ever telescope. Even with his imperfect telescope, he was able to see the bands on the planet and the 4 large Galilean moons that were named after him.

Subsequently, using large telescopes, astronomers were able to see more information about Jupiter's clouds and learn more about its moons. But scientists really studied it with the beginning of the space age. NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft was the first probe to fly past Jupiter in 1973. He passed at a distance of 34,000 km from the clouds.

Weight

Its mass is 1.9 x 10 * 27 kg. It is difficult to fully understand how big this number is. The mass of the planet is 318 times the mass of the Earth. It is 2.5 times more massive than all the other planets in our solar system combined.

The mass of the planet is not sufficient for sustainable nuclear fusion. Fusion requires high temperatures and intense gravitational compression. There is a large amount of hydrogen on the planet, but the planet is too cold and not massive enough for a sustained fusion reaction. Scientists have calculated that it needs 80 times the mass to ignite fusion.

Characteristic

The volume of the planet is 1.43128 10 * 15 km3. That's enough to fit 1,321 Earth-sized objects inside the planet, and there's still some room left.

The surface area is 6.21796 x 10 x 10 x 2. And just for comparison, that's 122 times more area the surface of the earth.

Surface

Infrared image of Jupiter taken with the VLT telescope

If the spacecraft descended under the clouds of the planet, then it would see a cloud layer consisting of ammonia crystals, with impurities of ammonium hydrosulfide. These clouds are located in the tropopause and are divided by color into zones and dark belts. In the atmosphere of the giant, the wind is raging at a speed of over 360 km / h. The entire atmosphere is constantly bombarded by excited particles of the magnetosphere and the substance that erupts from volcanoes on the satellite of Io. Lightning is observed in the atmosphere. Just a few kilometers below the nominal surface of the planet, any spacecraft will be crushed by monstrous pressure.

The cloud layer extends 50 km in depth, and contains a thin layer of water clouds under a layer of ammonia. This assumption is based on lightning flashes. Lightning is caused by the different polarity of water, which makes it possible to create the static electricity needed to form lightning. Lightning can be a thousand times more powerful than our Earth ones.

Planet Age

The exact age of the planet is difficult to determine, because we do not know exactly how Jupiter was formed. We don't have any breed samples for chemical analysis, or rather, they do not exist at all, because The planets are made entirely of gases. When did the planet originate? There is an opinion among scientists that Jupiter, like all planets, formed in the solar nebula about 4.6 billion years ago.

The theory claims that Big Bang occurred about 13.7 billion years ago. Scientists believe that our solar system was formed when a cloud of gas and dust in space was formed in a supernova explosion. After the supernova explosion, a wave formed in space, which created pressure in clouds of gas and dust. The contraction caused the cloud to contract, and the more it contracted, the more gravity accelerated this process. The cloud swirled, and a hotter and denser core grew in its center.

How did it form

Mosaic consisting of 27 pictures

As a result of accretion, the particles began to stick together and form clumps. Some clumps were bigger than others as less massive particles stuck to them, forming planets, moons, and other objects in our solar system. By studying meteorites from the early stages of the solar system, scientists have found that they are about 4.6 billion years old.

It is believed that the gas giants were the first to form and had the opportunity to grow large number hydrogen and helium. These gases existed in the solar nebula for the first few million years before being consumed. This means that gas giants may be slightly older than Earth. So how many billion years ago Jupiter arose has yet to be clarified.

Color

Numerous images of Jupiter show that it reflects many shades of white, red, orange, brown and yellow. Jupiter's color changes with storms and winds in the planet's atmosphere.

The color of the planet is very diverse, it is created by various chemicals reflecting the light of the sun. Most atmospheric clouds are composed of ammonia crystals, with admixtures of water ice and ammonium hydrosulfide. Powerful storms on the planet are formed due to convection in the atmosphere. This allows storms to lift substances such as phosphorus, sulfur, and hydrocarbons from deep layers, resulting in the white, brown, and red patches we see in the atmosphere.

Scientists use the color of the planet to understand how the atmosphere works. Future missions, such as Juno, plan to bring a deeper understanding of the processes in the giant's gaseous envelope. Future missions are also set to study the interaction of Io's volcanoes with water ice on Europa.

Radiation

Cosmic radiation is one of the biggest challenges for research probes exploring many planets. So far, Jupiter is the biggest threat to any ship within 300,000 km of the planet.

Jupiter is surrounded by intense radiation belts that will easily destroy all onboard electronics if the ship is not properly protected. Electrons accelerated almost to the speed of light surround it from all sides. The Earth has similar radiation belts called the Van Allen belts.

The giant's magnetic field is 20,000 times stronger than Earth's. The Galileo spacecraft has been measuring radio wave activity inside Jupiter's magnetosphere for eight years. According to him, short radio waves may be responsible for the excitation of electrons in the radiation belts. The planet's short-wavelength radio emission results from the interaction of volcanoes on Io's moon, combined with the planet's rapid rotation. Volcanic gases are ionized and leave the satellite under the action of centrifugal force. This material forms an internal flow of particles that excite radio waves in the planet's magnetosphere.

1. The planet is very massive

The mass of Jupiter is 318 times the mass of the Earth. And it is 2.5 times the mass of all the other planets in the solar system combined.

2. Jupiter will never become a star

Astronomers call Jupiter a failed star, but this is not entirely appropriate. It's like a skyscraper failed from your house. Stars generate their energy by fusing hydrogen atoms. Their enormous pressure at the center creates heat and the hydrogen atoms fuse together to create helium while releasing heat. Jupiter would need more than 80 times its current mass to ignite fusion.

3. Jupiter is the fastest rotating planet in the solar system

Despite all its size and weight, it rotates very quickly. The planet takes only about 10 hours to make a complete rotation around its axis. Because of this, its shape is slightly convex at the equator.

The radius of the planet Jupiter at the equator of more than 4600 km is further from the center than at the poles. This rapid rotation also helps generate a powerful magnetic field.

4. Clouds on Jupiter are only 50 km thick.

All those beautiful clouds and storms you see on Jupiter are only about 50 km thick. They are made of ammonia crystals divided into two levels. The darker ones are thought to be made up of compounds that have risen from deeper layers and then change color on the Sun. Beneath these clouds extends an ocean of hydrogen and helium, all the way to the layer of metallic hydrogen.

Big red spot. Image composite RBG + IR and UV. Amateur edited by Mike Malaska.

The Great Red Spot is one of its most famous features of the planet. And it seems to have been in existence for 350-400 years. It was first identified by Giovanni Cassini, who noted it as early as 1665. One hundred years ago, the Great Red Spot was 40,000 km across, but is now halved.

6. The planet has rings

The rings around Jupiter were the third to be discovered in the solar system, after being discovered around Saturn (of course) and Uranus.

An image of Jupiter's ring taken by the New Horizons probe

Jupiter's rings are faint, and are probably made up of matter ejected from its moons when they collided with meteorites and comets.

7 Jupiter's Magnetic Field Is 14 Times Stronger Than Earth's

Astronomers believe that the magnetic field is created by the movement of metallic hydrogen deep inside the planet. This magnetic field traps ionized solar wind particles and accelerates them to almost the speed of light. These particles create dangerous belts of radiation around Jupiter that could damage spacecraft.

8. Jupiter has 67 moons

As of 2014, Jupiter has a total of 67 moons. Almost all of them are less than 10 kilometers in diameter and were discovered only after 1975, when the first spacecraft arrived to the planet.

One of its satellites, Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system and is 5262 km across.

9. Jupiter has been visited by 7 different spaceships from earth

Images of Jupiter taken by six spacecraft (no photo from Willis, due to the fact that there were no cameras)

Jupiter was first visited by NASA's Pioneer 10 probe in December 1973 and then by Pioneer 11 in December 1974. After the Voyager 1 and 2 probes in 1979. They were followed by a long break until the Ulysses spacecraft arrived in February 1992. After the interplanetary station Cassini made a flyby in 2000, on its way to Saturn. And finally, the New Horizons probe flew past the giant in 2007. The next visit is scheduled for 2016, the planet will be explored by the Juno spacecraft.

Gallery of drawings dedicated to the journey of Voyager

10. You can see Jupiter with your own eyes.

Jupiter is the third brightest object in Earth's night sky, after Venus and the Moon. Chances are you've seen a gas giant in the sky but had no idea it was Jupiter. Keep in mind that if you see a very bright star high in the sky, it's most likely Jupiter. In essence, these facts about Jupiter are for children, but for most of us, who have completely forgotten school course astronomy, this information about the planet will be very useful.

Journey to the Planet Jupiter popular science film

The Hubble Space Telescope continues to provide invaluable information on all aspects of space exploration. This time we will not talk about images of nebulae and clusters, but about our solar system. It would seem that we know a lot about it, but still, researchers are constantly finding some new amazing features. The public was presented with a new map of Jupiter - the first in a series of annual "portraits" of the planets of the outer solar system. By collecting seemingly similar information year after year, scientists will eventually be able to track how these gigantic worlds change over time. The ongoing observations are specially designed to cover a wide range of properties of these objects: atmospheric vortices, storms, hurricanes and its chemical composition.

New map atmosphere of Jupiter. Source: NASA, ESA

So, before the researchers had time to analyze the formed map of Jupiter, they already managed to detect a rare atmospheric wave a little north of the equator, as well as a unique fibrous feature in the very center of the Great Red Spot (GRS), which was simply not visible before.

“Every time we study new data on Jupiter, we see hints that something exciting is still happening here. And this time was no exception.” – Amy Simon, planetary scientist at NASA Space Flight Center

Simon and her colleagues were able to create two global maps of Jupiter according to data obtained using the Hubble Wide Field Camera 3. Thanks to this, it was possible to compensate for the movement of Jupiter, to represent it as if it were standing still, which made it possible to highlight the movement only its atmosphere. The new images confirm that the BKP continues to shrink and become more and more rounded. This is exactly what researchers have been observing for several years. Now, the longitudinal axis of this hurricane has become 240 kilometers shorter than in 2014. And recently, this spot has begun to shrink even more intensely than its usual speed, but this change is consistent with the long-term trend that was modeled in the programs.

This is how Jupiter's atmosphere moves. The boxes show the enlarged BCL in blue (left) and red (right) waves. These data helped to detect a strange wave formation in the sunspot core. Source: NASA/ESA/Goddard/UCBerkeley/JPL-Caltech/STScI

At present, the BKP actually looks more orange than red, and its core, which tends to have a more intense color, is also less distinct than it used to be. here, an unusual thin thread (filament) was noticed, which covers almost the entire width of the vortex. After analyzing all the images of Jupiter, it was possible to establish that it moves on all of them and is distorted under the influence of powerful winds blowing at a speed of 150 meters per second or even more.

In Jupiter's northern equatorial belt, researchers have detected an almost invisible wave that was detected on the planet only once several decades ago using the Voyager 2 spacecraft. In those old pictures, this wave was barely visible, and then simply disappeared, and nothing like it has been found until now. Now it has been seen again at 16 degrees north latitude in a region teeming with cyclones and anticyclones. Such waves are called baroclinic, and their common name is Rossby waves - giant bends of high-altitude winds that have a serious impact on the weather. These waves are associated with pressure zones and high-altitude jet streams and take part in the formation of cyclones and anticyclones.

A cutout of the map of Jupiter, which was obtained from the most recent images as part of the OPAL survey.

Every summer evening, looking at the sky in the southern part, you can see a very bright star with a reddish or orange tint. The planet Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.

Jupiter is the king of all the planets. It is in the fifth orbit, if we count from the Sun, and in many ways we owe it our quiet existence. Jupiter belongs to the gas giant planets, and its radius is 11.2 times larger than the Earth's. By mass, it is almost 2.5 times heavier than all the other planets combined. Jupiter has 67 known moons, both very small and very large.

So Jupiter is the largest planet with the largest mass, the strongest gravitational field, and the largest influence in the solar system. In addition, it is one of the simplest and most beautiful objects to observe.

Of course, it is incorrect to talk about the discovery of this planet, because the planet Jupiter in the sky looks like the brightest star. That is why it has been known since ancient times, and there is simply no discoverer here and cannot be.

Another thing is that Galileo Galilei in 1610 was able to consider the four largest satellites of Jupiter in his primitive telescope, and this was a discovery. But that's another story that applies to satellites. In the future, more than a dozen of them were discovered, both in telescopes and with the help of space probes.

The largest planet in the solar system undoubtedly has outstanding characteristics. In fact, this planet is so unlike our tiny Earth that there are quite a few interesting facts about Jupiter. Here are some of them:

• The planet Jupiter is very massive. Its mass is 318 Earth. Even if we take all the other planets and mold them into one lump, and then Jupiter will be 2.5 times heavier than it.
• The volume of Jupiter would fit 1300 planets like the Earth.
• Gravity on Jupiter is 2.5 times greater than Earth's.
• Jupiter's metal core is heated to 20,000 degrees.
• Jupiter gives off more heat than it receives from the Sun.
• Jupiter will never be a star, it does not have enough mass for this. To start in its bowels thermonuclear reaction, Jupiter needs to increase its mass by 80 times. This amount of matter in the solar system will not be typed, even if you put together all the planets, their satellites, asteroids, comets, and all the small debris.
• Jupiter is the fastest rotating planet in the solar system. despite its huge size, it makes a complete revolution in less than 10 hours. Due to its rapid rotation, Jupiter is noticeably flattened at the poles.
• The thickness of the clouds on Jupiter is only about 50 km. The cloud layer looks very powerful. All these huge storms and colored stripes thousands of kilometers in size are actually in a small gap in thickness. They consist mainly of ammonia crystals - the lighter ones are located below, and those that rise up become darker due to solar radiation. Under the cloud layer there is a mixture of hydrogen and helium up to different densities up to the metallic state.
• The Great Red Spot was first discovered by Giovanni Cassini back in 1665. This giant storm existed even then, that is, it is already at least 350-400 years old. True, over the past 100 years it has halved, but this is the largest and longest-lived storm in the solar system. Other storms last only a few days.
• Jupiter has rings, they were discovered after the well-known rings of Saturn and the much smaller rings of Uranus. Jupiter's rings are very weak. Perhaps they are formed from the substance that was ejected by satellites during meteorite impacts.
• Jupiter has the most powerful magnetic field of any planet, 14 times stronger than Earth's. There is a theory that it is generated by a huge metal core rotating in the center of the planet. This magnetic field accelerates solar wind particles to almost the speed of light. Therefore, near Jupiter there are very powerful radiation belts that can disable the electronics of spacecraft, which is why it is dangerous to approach it close.
• Jupiter has a record number of satellites - 79 of them were known in 2018. Scientists believe that there may be many more and not all of them have been discovered yet. Some are the size of the moon, and some are just chunks of rock a few kilometers across.
• Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system. Its diameter is 5260 km, which is 8% larger than even that of Mercury and 51% larger than the Moon. So it's practically a planet.
• Jupiter, by its gravity, protects us from many dangers in the form of comets and asteroids, deflecting their orbits. He practically cleaned out the inner part of the solar system, providing us with enough free space. Comets and asteroids penetrating us, sooner or later change their orbit under the influence of Jupiter to more rounded and safer for the Earth.
• Jupiter can be easily observed. This is the most bright Star in the earth's sky after Venus and the Moon. Already in 8-10x binoculars you can see 4 of its Galilean satellites. And in a small telescope, Jupiter is visible as a disk, and you can even see the belts on it.

As you can see, the planet Jupiter is not some ordinary gas ball. This is a whole world that has many secrets and mysteries that scientists are gradually unraveling. In fact, this planet with its satellites is a miniature solar system, where there are dozens of their own unique worlds. If you are interested, you can also learn a lot of interesting things about Jupiter from a short video:

Distance from Jupiter to the Sun

The orbit of the planet Jupiter is located much further from the Sun than the earth. If from the Earth to the Sun is about 150 million kilometers, or 1 astronomical unit, then to Jupiter it averages 778 million kilometers, or 5.2 AU. Jupiter's orbit is not much different from a circular one, the difference in distance from the Sun at the closest and farthest point is 76 million kilometers.

A year on Jupiter lasts 11.86 Earth years, which is how long it takes for this planet to complete one revolution around the sun. At the same time, once every 13 months, Jupiter is on the same line with the Earth, and the distance between them is minimal - this is called opposition. This is the best time to observe Jupiter.

Once every 13 years, the Great Opposition of Jupiter occurs, when this planet, moreover, is not only opposite the Earth, but also at the nearest point in its orbit. This best time when every astronomer, both professional and amateur, points his telescope at this planet.

The planet Jupiter has a very slight tilt, only about 3 degrees, and the seasons do not change there.

Characteristics of the planet Jupiter

Jupiter is a very curious planet that has little to do with the things we are used to.

Radius- about 70 thousand kilometers, which is 11.2 times greater than the radius of the Earth. In fact, this ball of gas, due to its rapid rotation, has a rather flattened shape, because the radius along the poles is about 66 thousand kilometers, and along the equator - 71 thousand kilometers.

Weight- 318 times the mass of the Earth. If you collect all the planets, comets, asteroids and other bodies of the solar system in one heap, then even Jupiter will be 2.5 times heavier than this heap.

Rotation time at the equator - 9 hours 50 minutes 30 seconds. Yes, this giant ball makes a full rotation around its axis in less than 10 hours, which is exactly the length of the day there. But it's a ball of gas, not a solid, and it spins like a liquid. Therefore, in the middle latitudes, the rotation speed is different, the rotation there takes place in 9 hours 55 minutes 40 seconds. So the length of the day depends on the location. In addition, we can track the rotation of the planet only by clouds in the upper atmosphere, and not by surface landmarks, which are not there, just as there is no surface itself.

Surface area- 122 times larger than the earth, only this surface is not solid, and there is absolutely nowhere to land there. Yes, and there is no clear boundary. When descending to Jupiter, the gas will simply thicken under pressure - at first it will be just a gaseous atmosphere, then something like a very saturated fog, smoothly flowing into a completely liquid medium.

A magnetic field the planet Jupiter in the system is the most powerful, it is 14 times stronger than the earth. The radiation from it is such that even space probes cannot long time withstand it without damage to the equipment.

Atmosphere Jupiter, at least its upper layers, consist mainly of hydrogen (90%) and helium (10%). It also contains methane, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, water and other impurities. Deep layers have not yet been investigated sufficiently reliably. Red phosphorus and its compounds are predominant and give Jupiter its red appearance. Admire virtual eerily beautiful views of the atmosphere of the planet Jupiter:

Core Jupiter has a temperature of about 3000 K and consists of molten metal, in particular, metallic hydrogen. The core is larger than the Earth.

Acceleration of gravity on the planet Jupiter will be approximately 2.5g.

What would await an observer who dared to approach Jupiter? At first it would be wonderful views of the planet, satellites, perhaps even see the rings of the planet. Then, when approaching the planet, our daredevil would be killed by radiation. If his mortal body does not remain in eternal orbit and enters the atmosphere, then fire, enormous pressure, and a long fall of what remains await him there. And perhaps it will not be a fall, but the carrying of the remnants at the behest of a hurricane until the chemical composition of the atmosphere decomposes them into individual molecules.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot

One of the most curious phenomena of Jupiter, which can already be observed in an average telescope, is the Great Red Spot, which is visible on the surface of the planet, and which rotates with it. Its dimensions (they are not constant) - about 40 thousand kilometers long and 13 thousand kilometers wide - the whole Earth would fit into this giant hurricane!

Comparative sizes of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter.

This phenomenon has been observed for 350 years, and since then the spot has not disappeared. For a long time it was thought that this is something solid on the surface of the planet, but Voyager 1 in 1979 took detailed pictures of Jupiter and clarified this issue. It turned out that the Great Red Spot is nothing but an atmospheric vortex! And this is the largest hurricane in the solar system, which people have been seeing for 350 years, and no one knows how long it exists at all. Although over the past 100 years, the spot size has become half as large.

The rotation of the spot around its axis is 6 hours, and at the same time it rotates along with the planet.

The winds blowing in this hurricane reach speeds of 500-600 km/h (about 170 m/s). Compared to this, our most powerful terrestrial hurricanes are nothing more than a light, pleasant breeze. However, in the center of the spot, as in terrestrial hurricanes of this type, the weather is quite calm. By the way, the wind is much stronger.

In addition to the Great Red Spot on the planet Jupiter, there are other similar formations - hurricanes. They form in different areas and can exist for decades, gradually disappearing. Sometimes they collide with each other or even with the Great Red Spot, and then its brightness and size can change. The longest-lived eddies are formed in the southern hemisphere, but why this is so is not clear.

Moons of Jupiter

The giant Jupiter has a very large retinue, as befits a real god. To date, 79 satellites are known, of various sizes and shapes - from huge, like the Moon, to pieces of stone several kilometers long, like asteroids. All of them have names associated with the god Zeus-Jupiter in mythology. Scientists believe that there may be even more satellites, although this is already a record number among all the planets in the solar system.

Since the discovery of Jupiter's first and largest moons, Ganymede, and Callisto, in 1610 by Galileo Galilei, they have been the only ones known. They can be seen even with binoculars, and in a small telescope they can be seen quite clearly.

Each of these satellites of Jupiter is very interesting and represents a unique world. On some, scientists assume the existence of conditions for the development of life, and even projects of probes are being developed for their more detailed study.

In the 70s of the last century, astronomers already knew 13 satellites, and, flying past Jupiter, discovered three more. In the 1990s, powerful new telescopes appeared, including the Hubble Space Telescope. Since then, dozens of smaller satellites of Jupiter have been discovered, many of which are only a few kilometers in size. Of course, it is impossible to detect them with an amateur telescope.

Future of Jupiter

Now the planet Jupiter is not included in the habitable zone, as it is located too far from the Sun and liquid water cannot exist on the surface of its satellites. Although its presence is assumed to be under the surface layer, the so-called subsurface oceans may exist on Ganymede, Europa and Callisto.

Over time, the Sun will increase in size, approaching Jupiter. Gradually, the satellites of Jupiter will warm up and some of them will have quite comfortable conditions for the emergence and maintenance of life.

However, after 7.5 billion years, the Sun will turn into a huge red giant, the surface of which will be located only 500 million kilometers from Jupiter - three times closer than from the Earth to the Sun now. The earth, and even by that time, will long ago be swallowed up by our swollen luminary. And Jupiter itself will turn into a planet like " hot Jupiter"- a gas ball heated to 1000 degrees, which itself will glow. Its stony satellites will be burnt pieces of stone, and the icy ones will completely disappear.

But by that time, more favorable conditions will arise on the satellites, one of which is, and is now a whole organic factory with a thick atmosphere. Perhaps then the turn will come for the emergence of new forms of life there.

Jupiter observation

This planet is very convenient for beginner amateur astronomers. It can be seen in the southern part of the sky, moreover, it rises quite high above the horizon. In terms of brightness, Jupiter is inferior except that. The most convenient moments for observations are oppositions, when the planet is closest to the Earth.

Jupiter Opposition:

It is interesting to observe the planet Jupiter even with binoculars. An 8-10x magnification on a dark night will allow you to see 4 Galilean satellites - Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. At the same time, the disk of the planet becomes noticeable and does not look like just a dot, like other stars. Details, of course, are not visible through binoculars at such magnifications.

If you arm yourself with a telescope, you can see much more. For example, the 90 mm Sky Watcher 909 refractor, already with a complete 25 mm eyepiece (36x magnification), allows you to see several bands on the disk of Jupiter. The 10mm eyepiece (90x) will allow you to see a few more details, including the Great Red Spot, the shadows from satellites on the planet's disk.

Larger telescopes will, of course, allow us to view the details of Jupiter in more detail. Details in the planet's belts will become visible and fainter satellites can be seen. With a powerful tool, you can get good pictures. It is useless to use a telescope with a diameter of more than 300 mm - atmospheric influence will not allow you to see more details. Most amateur astronomers for observing Jupiter use a diameter of 150 mm or more.

For greater convenience, you can use light blue or blue filters. With them, the Great Red Spot and belts are more clearly visible. Light red filters help to see details of the blue tint better, and with yellow filters it is better to see the polar regions. With green filters, the cloud belts and the Great Red Spot look more contrasting.

The planet Jupiter is very active, the atmosphere is constantly changing. It makes a complete revolution in less than 10 hours, which allows you to see a lot of changing details on it. Therefore, it is a very convenient object for the first observations, even for those who have a rather modest instrument.

Planets of the solar system