Jupiter+the+gas+giant

JUPITER BY: Rachel Hood and Kayleigh Housel

Area 1: Essential Data = = Who’s known as the great gas giant? Jupiter of course! Jupiter is the 5th planet from the sun and is the largest planet in the solar system. This great gas giant is filled with mostly hydrogen and helium and some methane. Jupiter has a ton of moons. There are 61 at least! The first person to see Jupiter's four largest moons was Galileo Galolei. With his telescope, he was able to spot Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. The moon Io, is the closest large moon to Jupiter and is the most volcanically active object in the whole solar system! On Europa there could be an ocean as deep as 200 km. Gandymede, is the largest moon in the solar system. This moon is even bigger than the planet Mercury! The last large moon on jupiter is Callisto. On Callisto, there also is thought to be an ocean around the rock core. Jupiter is 777 million kilometers or 483 million miles away from the sun. The revolution period of Jupiter is 11.86 years and the rotation period is .41 days. Jupiter’s days are only 10 hours long, compared to Earth's 24! Area 2: History The discovery of Jupiter is still unknown. We do not know who discovered it or when. Although we do know it was named by the Greeks after a god. He was known as Zeus. Jupiter has a very unique kind of symbol. It is shown in figure one. Many people think Jupiter's symbol is just the number four, but if they really knew, it means so much more!

http://www.clker.com/clipart-27741.html www.solstation.com/stars/jupiter.jpg Area 3: Physical Properties Jupiter’s mass is 2.5 more than all the other planets put together and 37 times more massive than Earth. Its diameter is 88,846 miles wide! This is definitely the largest planet in the solar system!!! It’s also a pretty cold planet too…the average temperature is -153 degrees Celsius or -244 degrees Fahrenheit. So if you like the cold this is the perfect place for you! The average density is 1.33 grams per cubic centimeter. The escape velocity of Jupiter is 59.556 km/sec. Underneath Jupiter's atmosphere there are many different layers. The first layer is molecular hydrogen. Underneath that is a metallic hydrogen layer. The next layer is made up of hydrogen, helium, and methane gas. The biggest layer, the mantle, is an ocean of water, ammonia, and methane ice. Underneath it all is a core made of rock and ice. Inside all of the layers of Jupiter, there are many unique features. There are colorful clouds that are made by high-speed jet streams and are made of ammonia. There are also rings around Jupiter made of dust. The most unique feature of all is the Great Red Spot. This giant spinning storm has been studied for over 300 years!

http://www.electrical-res.com/EX/10-17-16/features_jupiter.jpg http://www.sciencefacts.us/wpcontent/uploads/2009/08/great_red_spot_on_jupiter.jpg  Did you know??? Did you know that if Jupiter were any bigger it would actually be considered a star?!

Area 4: Planet Exploration

There are four space probes that have explored Jupiter's atmosphere. They are named Pioneer 11, Voyager 1 and 2, and Galileo. Pioneer 11 was known to of found Jupiter's Great Red Spot. This probe launched in 1977 and arrived in 1979. Voyager 1 was then launched in 1977,returning in 1980 with evidence about Jupiter's moons. Voyager 2 discovered Jupiter's Great Red Spot has many complex storms. The moon Io, was found to be a very active volcano as it arrived in 1981. Galileo however, was launched in 1989 and returned by 1990. Galileo is currently being observed as of on December 7,1995.



http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/pic/tels/probe/voyager.jpg

Area 5: Interesting Facts

Unlike Earth, Jupiter has no solid surface. If you were to go to Jupiter, you would weigh more and be way younger. If you weigh 110 pounds on Earth you would weigh 260 pounds on Jupiter. If you were to weigh 170 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 401.8 pounds on Jupiter! You also have to wait a very long time between birthdays. The good thing about this is that you won't age very fast! For example, Kayleigh's birthday is on September 21, 1995, her next birthday on Jupiter would be June 20,2019. Another example would be Rachel's birthday which is April 20,1996. Her next birthday would be January 10, 2012. Jupiter is a very unique planet in many ways. This planet is unlike any of the others. Throughout the years we have discovered more and more about Jupiter, and to this day we are still learning. Jupiter would be an awesome place to visit, but you'll have to be aware of the Great Red Spot! You'll be fascinated by all of the colorful clouds that surround and make up the atmosphere. Just be sure you have a face mask and some heavy duty clothes because it is cold! So if your looking for a place to vacation...come to Jupiter, it's the place to be!!!





Works Cited  __Cite__ [] [] [] [] [|http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/index.html\] []