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Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, and has the most number of moons that we currently know about: 16.
It is several times larger than Earth and is the fourth brightest object in Earth's skies beaten only by the sun , the moon and Venus , though occasionally Mars will outshine it. In astronomical units Jupiter is 5.203 Aus from the sun , which translates into 778.3 million kilometers. It's day is approximately 9 Earth hours long, and it takes 11.86 of our years before Jupiter completes one of it's own.
Jupiter , as gas giant, has no actual solid mass like some of the other planets, but is instead comprised of varying gases and clouds, including helium, methane and hydrogen. Deep within the planet , however the pressure is so immense that the gas starts becoming liquid instead. A few scientists have begun to refer to Jupiter as a fluid planet. It was recently discovered that Jupiter has a faint ring of it's own, just as some of the other outer planets do. In contrast to Saturn's bright rings Jupiter's rings are darker for some at the moment unknown reasons.
The pull of gravity is well over twice that of Earth and it gives off approximately twice the heat that it take in from the sun . The moons of Jupiter are very fascinating in and of themselves. Eight of them orbit in an entirely different direction than the four which are the closest to their mother planet and it hast been suspected that the eight outer ones were once asteroids that got too close to Jupiter's gravity forces. The four moons which are closest to Jupiter are Metis, Adrestea, Amalthea, and Thebe. Metis and Adrestea are theorized to be the source of the material that makes up Jupiter's rings. IO , CALLISTO, EUROPA, GANYMEDE, LEDA , HIMALIA , LYSITHEA , ELARA, ANANKE ,CARME , PASIPHAE and SINOPE are the other satellites that orbit Jupiter. The date of discoveries range from 1610 to 1979 and vary in size from smaller than our moon to larger than our planet.
Perhaps one of the most famous features of Jupiter is the Great Red Spot, a huge storm that humans have known of for at least the centuries. It's discovery is credited diversely with Cassini or Hooke. The oval shaped storm is easily large enough to hold two earths , and is approximately 12000 by 25000 km. This is just the tip of the iceberg of knowledge that we have gleaned from various probes, passing the planet, and who can tell what else we'll learn as mankind's science evolves. One day we just might be able to pay a visit their ourselves.
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