Size of Jupiter
Written by Fraser Cain
Jupiter is a huge planet in every regard. Let's consider the size of Jupiter in each aspect: mass, diameter, volume, and surface area.
Let's start with mass. Jupiter's total mass is 1.9 x 1027 kg. This is the same as 318 times the mass of the Earth. In fact, Jupiter has 2.5 times the mass of the rest of the Solar System put together.
The diameter of Jupiter across its equator is 143,000 km. And this is 11.2 times as big as the diameter of the Earth.
The volume of Jupiter is 1.43 x 1015 cubic kilometers. This is 1321 times the volume of Earth. Read that one again… you could fit 1321 earths inside Jupiter.
And finally, the surface area of Jupiter is 6.22 x 1010 square kilometers. Of course, Jupiter doesn't actually have a solid surface. But this measures out to 122 times the surface area of Earth.
Here's an article from Universe Today about how big planets can get, and another about a star that's the size of Jupiter.
Here's all the information you could want about Jupiter from Wikipedia, and more general Jupiter information from Nine Planets.
We've also recorded an entire show just on Jupiter for Astronomy Cast. Listen to it here, Episode 56: Jupiter, and Episode 57: Jupiter's Moons.
Filed under: Astronomy
