Jupiter

   Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. When approached from afar, its fantastic striped atmosphere gradually reveals intriguing clouds that move around the planet. Rich in historical and cultural connections, Jupiter is the site of recent comet impacts and continuing scientific discovery.

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This dramatic view of Jupiter's <a href="/jupiter/atmosphere/J_clouds_GRS.html&edu=elem&dev=">Great Red Spot</a> and its surroundings was obtained by <a href="/space_missions/voyager.html&edu=elem&dev=">Voyager 1</a> on Feb. 25, 1979, when the spacecraft was 5.7 million miles (9.2 million kilometers) from Jupiter. Cloud details as small as 100 miles (160 kilometers) across can be seen here. The colorful, wavy cloud pattern to the left of the Red Spot is a region of extraordinarily complex end variable wave motion.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA</em></small></p>

Explore Jupiter

Interior and Surface of Jupiter

The Giant planets do not have the same layered structure that the terrestrial planets do. Their ...Read more

Atmosphere of Jupiter

The king of planets is aptly named because it not only has the most dymanic atmospheric motion, ...Read more

Jupiter's Magnetosphere

Jupiter's magnetosphere is a unique object in the solar system. It is the biggest object in ...Read more

Jupiter's Moons and Rings

The four Galilean satellites; Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, are among the most interesting ...Read more

The Poles of Jupiter and its Moons

Several interesting phenomena are found at the poles of Jupiter, the largest planet in our ...Read more

Planetary Facts

All of the relevant information about Jupiter collected on one page, including details about size, orbit ...Read more

Myth and Culture

The Roman god Jupiter is associated with the Greek god, Zeus. ...Read more

Missions to Jupiter

A table containing information about the spacecraft that have visited Jupiter ...Read more

Images and Multimedia

Access wonderful captioned photos and illustrations that will inspire and excite you. ...Read more

Jupiter Links

These are links to other great web sites about Jupiter. But beware: you don't want to get ...Read more

More about Jupiter

Historical Events

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

Teacher Opportunities

Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)

Did you know?

Did you know that Pluto is not always outside the orbit of Neptune?

Did you know that "megalith" means "big rock", which is certainly a good description of Stonehenge?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Ooids
xOoids : Small (< 2 mm), spheroidal, layered sedimentary grains, usually composed of calcium carbonate, but sometimes made up of iron- or phosphate-based minerals.

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

Geologists Uncover Major Ancient Human Ancestor in South Africa

Researchers working in South Africa have discovered two remarkably well-preserved fossil skeletons of an ancient human ancestor dating to almost two million years ago. The discovery is described in two...Read more


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