Jupiter+and+its+moons

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=Facts on Jupiter= = = == =The oldest moon of jupiter is Galilean.= =5th planet from the sun.= =63 moons 28 named= =moons gives off radiation that would kill anything on a close moon On January 7, 1610 Galileo Galilei observed three pinpoints of light strung out in a line next to Jupiter. The next evening, these stars seemed to have moved the wrong way, which caught his attention. Galileo continued to observe the stars and Jupiter for the next week. On January 11, a fourth star (Ganymede) appeared. After a week, Galileo observed that the four stars never left the vicinity of Jupiter, appeared to be carried along with the planet, and changed their position with respect to each other and Jupiter. Finally, Galileo determined that what he was observing were not stars, but planetary bodies that were in orbit around Jupiter. This discovery provided evidence in support of the still heretical Copernican solar system and showed that everything did not revolve around the Earth.= = = =Orbit:778,330,000 km (5.20 AU)= =from Sun Diameter: 142,984 km (equatorial)= =Mass:1.900e27 kg= =Density: 1,326 kg/m^3 Minimum= =Distance from Sun: 741 million km (460 million miles)= =Maximum Distance from Sun: 817 million km Minimum= =Distance from Earth: 588 million km (365 million miles)= =Rotation Period about Axis: 9.8 hours= =Revolution Period about the Sun: 12 years Tilt of Axis: 3.1 Degrees= =Surface Gravity: 23.12 m/s^2 (2.64 x Earth's)= =Name in Roman/Greek Mythology: Jupiter/Zeus Rotation Period about Axis: 9.8 hours Average= =Cloud Top Temperature (K): 123K= =Distance across the Great Red Spot: 40,000 km (24,860 miles)= =Temperature at Cloud Tops: -150 Degrees C (-101 Degrees F) Average Cloud Top Temperature (K): 123K Rings: 1, very thin Satellites: 16 known=


 * //[[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Jupiter.moons2.jpg]]

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. It rotates on its axis faster than any other planet. The Great Red Spot is actually a gigantic storm, lasting for almost 300 years. Jupiter has a total of 28 moons. The average temperature is 108'C. One revolution around the sun is 12 Earth years.//** = = =// - the Great Red Spot THE GALILEO SPACE PROBE://= == =//This is a picture of the Galileo space probe. Most of the pictures and information we have about Jupiter and its moons were gathered by this. Scientist used this from the years 1995 - 2003.//= =//JUPITER'S MOONS://= = = = = > surface layer of ice is about 5 - 20 miles thick, the liquid ocean underneath is approximately 60 - 65 miles deep > // > //This is what Europa's surface looks like. There might have been craters here but ice has covered them and now you can only see 3 craters on its surface. Here are some of those craters (some might not exist anymore or are very faint): Rhiannon, Pwyll, Maeve, Lyrr, and Aine. For more information, go to Europa, the frozen, oceanic frontier//
 * //Europa - has an atmosphere made of oxygen and contains the first ocean outside our planet Earth


 * **//Io - the MOST volcanic moon in our solar system Io//**


 * **//Callisto - the 3rd largest moon in our solar system//**


 * **//Ganymede - LARGEST moon of Jupiter and the solar system//**

by:mattew
 * || On January 7, 1610 Galileo Galilei observed three pinpoints of light strung out in a line next to Jupiter. The next evening, these stars seemed to have moved the wrong way, which caught his attention. Galileo continued to observe the stars and Jupiter for the next week. On January 11, a fourth star (Ganymede) appeared. After a week, Galileo observed that the four stars never left the vicinity of Jupiter, appeared to be carried along with the planet, and changed their position with respect to each other and Jupiter. Finally, Galileo determined that what he was observing were not stars, but planetary bodies that were in orbit around Jupiter. This discovery provided evidence in support of the still heretical Copernican solar system and showed that everything did not revolve around the Earth.Posted Mar 9, 2007 11:01 am ||

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Jupiter This is a link that has a ton of info about Jupiter!!
 * //The most massive planet in our solar system, with four planet-sized moons and many smaller moons, Jupiter forms a kind of miniature solar system. Jupiter resembles a star in composition. In fact, if it had been about eighty times more massive, it would have become a star rather than a planet.

On January 7, 1610, using his primitive telescope, astronomer Galileo Galilei saw four small 'stars' near Jupiter. He had discovered Jupiter's four largest moons, now called//** [|**//Io//**]**//,//** [|**//Europa//**]**//,//** [|**//Ganymede//**]**//, and//** [|**//Callisto//**]**//. Collectively, these four moons are known today as the Galilean satellites.

Galileo would be astonished at what we have learned about Jupiter and its moons in the past 30 years. Io is the most volcanically active body in our solar system. Ganymede is the largest planetary moon and is the only moon in the solar system known to have its own magnetic field. A liquid ocean may lie beneath the frozen crust of Europa. Icy oceans may also lie deep beneath the crusts of Callisto and Ganymede. In 2003 alone, astronomers discovered//** [|**//23 new moons//**] **//orbiting the giant planet, giving Jupiter a total moon count of 63 - the most in the solar system. The numerous small outer moons may be//** [|**//asteroids//**] **//captured by the giant planet's gravity.

Jupiter's appearance is a tapestry of beautiful colors and atmospheric features. Most visible clouds are composed of ammonia. Water exists deep below and can sometimes be seen through clear spots in the clouds. The planet's 'stripes' are dark belts and light zones created by strong east-west winds in Jupiter's upper atmosphere. Within these belts and zones are storm systems that have raged for years. The Great Red Spot, a giant spinning storm, has been observed for more than 300 years. Jupiter's enormous magnetic field is nearly 20,000 times as powerful as Earth's. Trapped within Jupiter's magnetosphere (the area in which magnetic field lines encircle the planet from pole to pole) are swarms of charged particles. Jupiter's rings and moons are embedded in an intense radiation belt of electrons and ions trapped in the magnetic field. The jovian magnetosphere, comprising these particles and fields, balloons 1 to 3 million kilometers (600,000 to 2 million miles) toward the Sun and tapers into a windsock-shaped tail extending more than 1 billion kilometers (600 million miles) behind Jupiter as far as//** [|**//Saturn//**]**//'s orbit.//**