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Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system – but do you know what it is made of? We answer this question and tell you more exciting facts about this celestial body.
What Jupiter is made of
Jupiter is the giant among the planets of our solar system. We explain its composition.
- Jupiter belongs to the so-called gas giants. This means that it consists almost entirely of gases. Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are also gas planets.
- About three quarters of Jupiter is made up of hydrogen. Just under another quarter is helium. There are also small amounts of methane and ammonia on Jupiter.
- Jupiter’s interior is thought to contain a core of ice and rock. This core alone is said to have about 14 to 18 times the mass of the Earth. This is based on computer calculations.
More exciting facts about Jupiter
Jupiter takes its name from a Roman deity. Since it can be seen from Earth with the naked eye, it was known long before telescopes were invented. Today we know a lot more about this giant planet.
- Jupiter’s equator has a diameter of about 143,000 km. Earth, with its 12,742 km equatorial diameter, is downright tiny next to it. Seen from the Sun, Jupiter is the fifth planet in the system. On average, 778 million kilometres separate the Sun and Jupiter. The gas giant is an average of 629 million kilometres away from Earth.
- Jupiter takes a whole 11.9 years to orbit the sun once. In return, the days pass very quickly. It takes only 9 hours and 56 minutes for the planet to rotate once around its own axis. Its temperature is -108°C.
- We currently know about 80 moons of Jupiter. The largest of them were discovered by Galileo Galilei as early as 1610. The moons Europa, Io, Ganymede and Callisto are therefore also called the Galilean moons.
- Jupiter is home to powerful storms. The best known of these is the Great Red Spot. This storm has been raging on the planet for at least 200 years and, at around 16,000 km in diameter, is larger than Earth.
- Similar to Saturn, Jupiter also has a ring system. However, this consists of very bright material and is therefore almost invisible.
