Planet Jupiter: description, interesting facts. Weather on the planet Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet of the solar system, belonging to the category of gas giants. The diameter of Jupiter is 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 well 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 in mass. Heavenly bodies with a large mass become stars, and bodies with a lower mass become planets. Jupiter, due to its huge size, could well be known to today's scientists as a star. However, during education, he received insufficient mass for the star. Therefore, Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.

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

Auroras often occur on Jupiter, similar to those that can be seen on Earth.

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

Jupiter is considered a gas giant. Its atmosphere is mostly composed of hydrogen. Also in the atmosphere are helium, methane, ammonium and water. Astronomers believe that behind the cloud layer of the planet and gas-liquid metallic hydrogen it is quite possible to detect the solid core of Jupiter.

Planet Basics

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

Discovery of jupiter

The discovery of Jupiter was made by the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1610. Galileo is considered the first person to use a telescope to observe space 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 for confirming the theory of the heliocentric system of the world.

In the 60s of the seventeenth century, Giovanni Cassini was able to detect "stripes" on the surface of the planet. As mentioned above, such an effect is created due to different cloud temperatures in the atmosphere of Jupiter.

In 1955, scientists learned 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, a probe of the Pioneer 11 spacecraft flying to Saturn made several detailed images of the planet. In 1977-1779, much became known about the atmosphere of Jupiter, about the atmospheric phenomena occurring on it, as well as about the ring system of the planet.

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

Jupiter in mythology

In the mythology of ancient Rome, Jupiter is the supreme god, the father of all gods. He owns the sky, daylight, rain and thunder, luxury and abundance, the rule of law and the possibility of healing, fidelity and purity of all life. 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 Saturn (god of the earth), his mother is Opa (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 supreme, almighty god. Therefore, it was divided into separate hypostases, responsible for a certain power of God. For example, Jupiter Victor (victory), Jupiter Tonans (thunder and rain), Jupiter Libertas (freedom), Jupiter Feretrius (god of war and triumph) and others.

The Temple of Jupiter on Capitol Hill in Ancient Rome was central to the faith and religion of the whole country. This once again proves the unshakable faith of the Romans in the rule 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 a 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 differences in religion and faith of the inhabitants of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.

Big Red Spot

Sometimes in the atmosphere of Jupiter there are vortices having a rounded shape. The Big Red Spot is the most famous of these vortices, which is also considered the largest in the solar system. Astronomers learned of its existence more than four hundred years ago.

The dimensions of the Great Red Spot - 40 × 15,000 kilometers - are 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 until today has not been conclusively 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 sun's ultraviolet radiation.

It is worth noting that the existence of such stable atmospheric formations as the Great Red Spot is impossible in the Earth's atmosphere, which, as you know, consists mainly of oxygen (≈21%) and nitrogen (≈78%).

Jupiter's moons

Jupiter itself is the largest satellite of the sun - the main star of the solar system. Unlike planet Earth, Jupiter has 69 satellites, this is the largest number of satellites 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 discovered by him - Io, Ganymede, Europe and Callisto - are still called the Galilee. The last of the satellites 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 of Venus - did not have any 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 among all the planets in the solar system. Its diameter is 3 642 kilometers.

Of the four Galilean satellites, Io is closest to Jupiter. On Io, a large number of volcanic processes occur, so the appearance of the satellite is very similar to pizza. Regular eruptions of numerous volcanoes periodically change the appearance of this celestial body.

Europe

The next satellite of Jupiter is Europe. It is the smallest among the Galilean satellites (diameter - 3,122 km).

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

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

Ganymede

Ganymede is the largest satellite 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 in the region of the equator.

Observing Ganymede through a telescope, one can notice on its surface separate light and dark areas. Astronomers have found that they are composed of cosmic ice and solid rocks. Sometimes traces of currents can be seen on the satellite.

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 that Callisto is of sufficient age. Some scientists even consider the Callisto surface 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 unequivocally. The weather on Jupiter is inconsistent and unpredictable, however, scientists were able to identify certain patterns in it.

As indicated above, powerful atmospheric vortices (such as the Great Red Spot) arise over the surface of Jupiter. From this it follows that among the atmospheric phenomena of Jupiter, one can distinguish crushing hurricanes, the speed of which exceeds 550 kilometers per hour. Clouds of different temperatures, which can be distinguished in numerous photographs of the planet Jupiter, also influence the occurrence of such hurricanes.

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

The temperature of Jupiter’s atmosphere drops below -140 ° , which is considered to be beyond the limits of life forms known to mankind. In addition, the Jupiter visible to us consists only of a gaseous atmosphere, so little is known to astronomers today about weather on a solid surface of the planet.

Conclusion

So, in this article we met with the largest planet in the solar system - Jupiter. It became clear that if Jupiter had been informed of a slightly larger amount of energy during its formation, then our planetary system could be called the “Sun-Jupiter” and depend on the two largest stars. However, Jupiter did not manage 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 god of heaven. But many other earthly objects were named after the planet itself. For example, the brand of Soviet tape recorders "Jupiter"; sailing ship of the Baltic Fleet at the beginning of the 19th century; brand of Soviet electric batteries "Jupiter"; U.S. Navy battleship; Film award approved in 1979 in Germany. Also, the famous Soviet motorcycle IZH Planet Jupiter, which marked the beginning of a series of road motorcycles, was named after the planet. 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 make it possible to know previously unknown information. Therefore, it is extremely important to follow the discoveries of astronomers, because our life and the life of our planet are completely subordinate to the laws of space.