Jupiter
jupiter

Jupiter is a giant gas planet which is made up of about 90% hydrogen and 10% helium.

Jupiter is so big that you could cram 1,000 Earths inside of it! That's *mighty big*!

It is thought that Jupiter's "Great Red Spot" is a storm of swirling gas that has lasted for hundreds of years. Scientists are still unsure as to how such a storm could last for so long.

Jupiter has 16 known moons! There are four large "Galilean" moons, and 12 small ones.

 

Jupiter does not have a solid surface due to its gaseous composition. The swirls and bands we see when looking at Jupiter are the tops of clouds high in its atmosphere.

 

Jupiter has high speed winds that whip by at more than 400 mph! These winds are trapped in the planet's wide bands of latitude. Each band has a slightly different chemical make-up and temperature from the others. This gives it a color which is different from surrounding bands. The light colored bands are called "zones." The dark colored bands are called "belts."

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Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sunand by far the largest of all nine planets. Jupiter is more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined - It's 318 times bigger than the Earth!

Look for Jupiter! When it is in the nighttime sky, Jupiter is often the brightest "star" in the sky (it is second only to Venus, which is seldom visible in a dark sky). The four large Ga;o;ean moons are easily visible with a pair of binoculars. You can even see a few of Jupiter's bands and the Great Red Spot with a small astronomical telescope!