Jupiter Planet
Jupiter is the fifth planet in the solar system visible from the sun. The average distance between it and the Sun is 5.2 AU, which is equal to 778,340,821 kilometers, and this distance is 5 times greater than the distance between the Sun and the Earth. It is also the largest planet of all; Its size alone is greater than the size of all the planets combined, because its diameter at the equator is about 143 thousand kilometers. It should be noted that Jupiter circles the sun for a very long time; One revolution of Jupiter around the Sun takes 12 Earth years. Video You May Like: Jupiter, named after the king of the gods in ancient Roman mythology, has many rings that surround it and has 79 moons in its orbit, and Jupiter rotates approximately twice as fast as the planet Earth; It can make one orbit around itself every 10 hours or so.Jupiter is considered one of the brightest celestial bodies in the cosmos, preceded by the Earth's Moon, Venus and sometimes Mars. Some consider it the brightest planet after Venus. Jupiter is considered closer in composition to stars than to planets, as if it were larger than... 80 times larger than now, it would be more of a star than a planet..
The orbit and rotation of Jupiter
The planet Jupiter revolves around the sun once every 4,333 Earth days, which is equivalent to 12 Earth years, and this rotation is almost straight, as the equator of this planet is inclined only three degrees from the sun. Jupiter rotates around itself very quickly, up to once every 10 hours. Due to this great speed in the planet’s rotation around itself, a day on Jupiter is the shortest day among the planets of the entire solar system.
Jupiter structure
Jupiter's atmosphere
Temperatures on Jupiter reach very high levels near the center of the planet, where they may reach approximately 24 thousand degrees Celsius, which is higher than the temperature of the surface of the Sun, but this temperature drops very significantly in the clouds surrounding the planet, reaching about 145 degrees Celsius. Below zero degrees Celsius. Jupiter is surrounded by a magnetic field with a very strong strength, reaching about 20,000 times the strength of the Earth's magnetic field. This magnetic field is created by the electrical currents that result from the rapid rotation of Jupiter. This magnetic field includes large packages of charged particles and radiation consisting of electrons. And ions, in addition to Jupiter's moons and rings, which are located within this strong magnetic field. Jupiter's atmosphere consists of many different layers, which are characterized by their upper parts being dense and their temperatures high. The atmosphere of this planet consists mainly of partial hydrogen and molecular helium, in addition to many other chemical elements, which are present in small quantities such as water, methane, and carbon dioxide. In addition to liquid helium, which is found in the inner layers of the atmosphere, and when moving to the inner layers of Jupiter’s atmosphere, hydrogen is present in a metallic form to become a conductor of electrical current in those layers. Jupiter’s atmosphere contains 3 layers of clouds consisting of ammonium hydrochloride and ammonia ice. , a mixture of ice and water; Which scientists discovered is present in smaller quantities than expected on the planet.
Regions and belts
Jupiter generally consists of clouds, the visible ones of which consist of ammonia gas, while water vapor may be present in its inner depths, and this vapor may be visible in the clouds through visible points in the clouds. Clouds are distributed and formed on Jupiter through two main parts: the regions, which are the layers that appear white, and the belts, which are the dark and dark layers. The regions and bands are formed as a result of the rapid rotation of the planet Jupiter. This leads to the emergence of strong currents of permanent winds that blow towards the east or west of the planet, and these winds are at their maximum strength at the border between the belts and regions. Regional hurricanes and belts move in opposite directions. While regional hurricanes rotate clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere, belt hurricanes move opposite to the movement of regional hurricanes.
The red spot on Jupiter
What is known as the Giant Red Spot is considered the most distinctive phenomenon of the planet Jupiter. The Red Spot is known as a giant and large storm that was observed more than 3 centuries ago, and is of a size sufficient to expand 3 times the size of the Earth in it. Since it was observed, this storm continues to exist. Which results in the red spot continuously and without stopping. Some believe that the Giant Red Spot, which is referred to by the abbreviation (GRS), is the oldest storm found across the planets, as well as the largest. Some scientific studies conducted in the year 1880 AD indicated that this giant spot extends over a length of up to 39,000 km between the two sides to the east. And the West. While its width extends over a distance of 12,500 km between the north and south, the length of that spot has witnessed a decrease since that date, as its current length, confined between the east and west, reaches 17,000 km.
Interior structure of Jupiter
It is believed that Jupiter contains a dense core surrounded by a hydrogen and helium atmosphere, in addition to some heavy elements that may be present in a small way in the planet’s core, and are distributed homogeneously throughout its atmosphere in most cases. However, some studies indicate that these heavy elements trapped between the outer molecular shell and the inner shell of metallic hydrogen are separate and not connected.
The Moons of Jupiter
Jupiter is surrounded by 67 moons, 53 of which have well-known names, including 14 others that scientists have recently discovered. The year 2011 witnessed the discovery of the newest moons belonging to this planet. Jupiter has 4 large moons known as the Galilean moons, named after their discoverer, the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, who discovered these four famous large moons belonging to Jupiter in the year 1610 AD. The following shows the Galilean moons and some of their characteristics:
1: the Ganymede moon
Ganymede is considered the largest moon in the solar system and the largest moon of Jupiter. With a diameter of 5,262 kilometers, this moon is larger than the planet Mercury. It is an icy moon with grooved terrain and a very thin atmosphere. It is the seventh closest planet to Jupiter, as it is approximately 671 thousand kilometers away from it. This planet has its own magnetic shell, and like the other moons, the name Ganymede goes back to some ancient Greek and Roman myths.
2: the Callisto moon
Callisto is the second largest moon among Jupiter's moons, with a diameter of 4,800 kilometers. It is the eighth closest moon to Jupiter. This planet is characterized by its engraved surface. It is one of the icy moons. It is noteworthy that the Galileo mission was able to discover that the atmosphere of this moon is very thin. It was named after an ancient Greek myth.
3: the Moon Io
Io is the third largest moon among the moons of Jupiter, with a diameter of more than 3,630 kilometers. It was named after some ancient Roman myths. Io is considered to have a different composition from the rest of the planet’s moons, as it consists mostly of iron. And sulfur, and some rocky materials, and it evolved in a different way from the evolution of the rest of the moons. The moon Io is distinguished by the fact that its surface contains a visible active volcano that produces lava that makes life on this moon non-existent. The moon Io is more than 420 thousand kilometers away from Jupiter and ranks fifth in terms of the closest moons to the planet. The moon Io has an important effect on the magnetic field. For Jupiter, as the particles in Io's atmosphere penetrate into the magnetosphere to form an empty circular cloud that has a significant impact on the planet's magnetosphere.
4: the Europe moon
Europa is the fourth largest moon orbiting Jupiter, with a diameter of 3,138 km. It has a size similar to the size of planet Earth, and this moon is 670.9 km away from Jupiter. Europa, named after ancient Greek mythology, is considered a potentially habitable surface, as it may contain water in its liquid form. The Galileo spacecraft has discovered the possibility of an ocean beneath the icy surface on this moon.
The importance of Jupiter in the solar system
Jupiter has a major influence on the orbits of all the planets in the entire solar system, especially Earth, due to the large mass it possesses. It also has an influence on the orbits of small objects that enter the solar system. The impact of Jupiter's rotation in the solar system is so great that it may destroy small objects that may reach its orbit, or it may throw them away from the entire solar system. Jupiter is of great importance in preserving planet Earth and protecting it from exposure to celestial bodies that may Hit the ground. An example of Jupiter's protection of Earth is what happened in 1994 AD when Jupiter collided with Comet Shoekar-Levy, preventing it from reaching Earth.
That's the end of my article about the planet Jupiter.
Stay tuned for the next article until we finish the nine planets in the solar system.
Thanks for reading and following along.
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