How Many Moons Does Jupiter Have?

The moon is by far the biggest and most easily recognizable object in earth’s atmosphere that can be perceived by the naked eye on a cloudless night. It is hypothesized that it came into existence nearly 4.5 billion years ago, from residual debris after a planetary body collided with earth. Although, considered the runner-up to the sun as the second brightest object in the sky, its illumination is deceitful, insomuch as the moon is not a source of light, but instead reflects the sun’s illumination from the half of the moon that is in direct alignment with the sun at that time. More readily identified as a satellite of the earth rather than as a planet itself or even a star, it has a diameter a quarter of the size of earth’s size and it

Jupiter is the largest and the fastest spinning planet in our solar system. The storm on Jupiter known as the Great Red Spot could swallow up the entire Earth. Jupiter is made primarily of hydrogen and helium and has no solid surface. Its atmosphere resembles that of the sun. Stathopoulus (2000 – 2011), “ Sixteen moons have been identified, with Ganymede noted as the largest - it is bigger than both Mercury and Pluto” (Facts about Jupiter, para. 9).

On Earth we have one moon to look at during the night. Can you imagine looking at 50 or 60 moons at night? If we lived on Jupiter, that’s what we would see! Jupiter has 50 definite moons. There are 17 moons scientists are still examining to make sure that they are moons. Some are smaller than 1.5 miles in diameter! Jupiter’s four largest moons, and four first discovered, are known as the Galilean moons, named after their discoverer Galileo Galilee in 1610.

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Fittingly, it was named after the king of the gods in Roman mythology. The distance from the Sun to Jupiter is approximately 779 million km, or 484 million miles. The exact number is 778,547,200 km. The most obvious features on Jupiter are the alternating bands of white and colored clouds, zones and belts. Analysis of data at many wavelengths shows that the white regions have higher thicker, clouds than the redder regions.

literally float. Its mass is about 1/3 the of Jupiter’s, and 16% smaller. Having rings which

The other 22 are further away and some are smaller than Pluto. One of the largest moons is Titania and is covered with small craters. The second largest moon is Arial, it has craters, valleys and canyons on it. The darkest moon orbiting Uranus is Umbriel.

Jupiter’s been part of the solar system for about 4.5 billion years. It was officially founded or discovered by Galileo Galilei. He was able to identify the planet with his telescope and see four moons orbiting it. However, Jupiter is so large that you can see it with an unaided eye

Jupiter’s four largest moons were found by Galileo Galilee. Those moons are known as the Galilean satellites. Jupiter has over 67 moons, most have been named but some still remain. (Chown, M.C 2011 Solar System, Touch Press 115-137). Jupiter also has rings. Like all the other gas giants Jupiter also has rings but unlike the other planets with rings, Jupiter’s are pretty much invisible, they are the very dark. It is impossible to see Jupiter’s rings with a pair of binoculars. In fact, no one knew that Jupiter has rings until they were first seen with a very powerful telescope in 1979. Jupiter’s magnetic field is about 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field and Jupiter’s magnetic field ranges farther than Saturn and Jupiter’s gravity is interferes with Saturn’s orbit around the sun. Jupiter’s magnetosphere revolves with Jupiter every 10 hours. The space inside the magnetosphere is filled with solar winds and its own subatomic particles. Some are placed in the magnetosphere by the volcanoes on Io (one of Jupiter’s moons) which create a doughnut-shaped ring of Sulphur and sodium around

On a spring day in 1655, the Dutch astronomer Christian Huygens discovered, with his newly-built telescope, the biggest of Saturn's moons. Titan, as it was later named, orbits around Saturn in a distance from the Sun ten times greater than Earth's. Huygens probably expected a world similar to our own Moon. However, the Cassini–Huygens mission that arrived in 2004, paints a different picture. One that looks awfully familiar.

When scientists call Jupiter a gas giant, they are not overstating. If you parachuted into Jupiter hoping to hit the ground, you would never find firm landing. The gases pile on top of one another, creating layers that extend downward. Because there is no solid ground, the surface of Jupiter is described as the point where the atmospheric pressure is equal to that of Earth. At this point, the pull of gravity is almost two and a half times stronger than it is on our planet.

At 1000 times the size of the planet Earth, Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and its biggest influence. In fact, Jupiter could swallow all of the plants in the solar system twice and still have room. More than any other planet, Jupiter shapes our solar systems past, present, and future. Most recently, scientists have been attempting to unlock the gas giants’ secrets. On December 7th, 1995, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft dropped a 750 pound titanium probe into Jupiter’s atmosphere. The probe hurled into the cloud tops at over 1006 miles an hour. Even though Jupiter appears calm, quite, and serene from a distance. There are ferocious winds, lightning storms, and immense pressures. With such an enormous mass, the closer

Neptune is one of the gas giants. It’s composed mainly of hydrogen and some helium. However,

In the study of space and space travel, one goal is ever-present in the minds of humanity. In a way, this one question is the underlying motive in all extra-terrestrial exploration: could there be life beyond the Earth? The question is asked again and again, with various theories from various people, but even with evidence of flowing water on Mars, evidence of life has yet to be found. However, as a possible answer to this timeless question, one celestial body stands out among the rest: the smallest of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons, Europa. Europa, discovered in 1610 by Simon Marius and Galileo Galilei, has been the topic of many a science fiction story (such as 3001: The Final Odyssey) because of this possibility, and it’s because of this possibility that my story, and likely our future space exploration as a

Uncovering the mysteries of Jupiter is a crucial step for a greater understanding of our Solar System. Being the massive planet that it is, this mysterious planet may hold many answers to how our the Solar System formed and evolved. The understanding of the origins of the universe includes answers even to the formation of Earth itself. Many believe that the research of Jupiter will lead to discoveries on planet formation and the role of giant planets on the formation f stars and other smaller bodies. Mysteries of Jupiter include its composition, what is under its clouds, what is in its core and its magnetic field. Research on the amount of water in the planet will tell us about the

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and by far the largest mass object in the solar system of all the other planets. Jupiter is twice the size of all the other planets combined. It is as 318 times the sizes of earth. The distance that Jupiter orbits the sun is 778,330,000 km (Gallant pp154). The diameter is 142,984 km and the mass that it has is 1.900e27 kg. Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in the sky after the Sun, the Moon and Venus. Mars is some times brighter. Galileo discovered Jupiter in 1610(Gallant); another interesting fact is that Jupiter has 4 large moons. Which are known as the Galilean moons. They were named Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The first mission that went to Jupiter was Pioneer 10 in 1973 and later