Jupiter photo. Image credit: NASA/SSI
Jupiter is a fascinating world. It is oversized and imposing in many ways. Here is a Jupiter fact sheet, based on figures published originally by NASA, to help you understand exactly how imposing the Jovian world really is.
Mass: 1,898.6 x 1024 kg
Volume: 143,128 x 1010 km3
Average radius: 69,911 km
Average diameter: 139,822 km
Mean density: 1.326 g/cm3
Escape velocity: 59.5 km/s
Surface gravity: 24.79 m/s2
Natural satellites: 63
Rings: Yes, it has four rings.
Semimajor axis: 778,570,000 km
Orbit period: 4,332.589 days
Perihelion: 740,520,000 km
Aphelion: 816,620,000 km
Mean orbital velocity: 13.07 km/s
Orbit inclination: 1.304°
Orbit eccentricity: 0.0489
Sidereal rotation period: 9.9250 hours
Length of day: 9.9259 hours
Axial tilt: 3.13°
Discovery: Known since prehistoric times
Minimum distance from Earth: 588,500,000 km
Maximum distance from Earth: 968,100,000 km
Maximum apparent diameter from Earth: 50.1 arc seconds
Minimum apparent diameter from Earth: 29.8 arc seconds
Maximum visual magnitude: -2.94
Jupiter is large enough to be seen with small earth based telescopes. Even in a small telescope, Jupiter’s equatorial bands and the four Galilean moons(four largest of Jupiter’s moons) are easily visible. You will not be able to see much detail, but they will be visible. Jupiter will appear in shades of gray and white. In a 4.5? to 8? telescope Jupiter takes on its characteristic rust colors at higher magnifications. A steady atmospheric moment is critical for seeing details, but the larger telescope should catch details like the Great Red Spot and the dark markings within the equatorial zones. With a10? or larger telescope, Jupiter has color clarity and you can see the temperate zones as well as details within the equatorial zones. Also, it is easier to see transits of the moons, moon shadows , the Great Red Spot, and other events. A Schmidt Cassegrain or refractor design telescope may allow for much finer detail, but the key factor still remains atmospheric steadiness.
If you do not have access to a telescope or a clear viewing field, take a look a the image gallery on www.nasa.gov or search our site. You will definitely find everything that you are looking for between the two sites.
We’ve written many articles about Jupiter for Universe Today. Here’s an article about the gravity on Jupiter, and here’s an article about looking at Jupiter in a telescope.
If you’d like more information on Jupiter, check out Hubblesite’s News Releases about Jupiter, and here’s a link to NASA’s Solar System Exploration Guide to Jupiter.
We’ve also recorded an entire episode of Astronomy Cast just about Jupiter. Listen here, Episode 56: Jupiter.
Source: NASA
Comments on this entry are closed.