10 interesting facts about Jupiter

The planet Jupiter was known to people many centuries ago. Its name comes from the name of the ancient Roman supreme thunder god, known as Zeus. Today, thanks to scientific research, we can learn a lot about our solar system, including Jupiter. Here are ten interesting facts about this gas giant.

10 PHOTOS

1. Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in the solar system as viewed from Earth. The first three places are occupied, respectively, by the Sun, Moon, and Venus.

2. Jupiter makes a complete revolution around its axis in just 9 hours 55 minutes.

3. Because of this rapid rotation, the planet has a slightly flattened shape.

4. The Great Red Spot on the surface of Jupiter is a giant storm that has been raging for more than 300 years in a row.

5. Jupiter's upper atmosphere consists mainly of sulfur and ammonia.

6. The planet does not have a solid surface. The lower layers of the atmosphere are composed of hydrogen and helium, below them liquid hydrogen, which goes even deeper into liquid metal. At the very center of Jupiter is a solid core.

7. Astronomers sometimes refer to Jupiter as a "failed star" due to its large amounts of hydrogen and helium. However, its mass is not enough to start nuclear fusion.

8. Jupiter has as many as 69 satellites, and several of them were discovered relatively recently.

9. Jupiter is twice as big as all the other planets in the solar system combined.

10. From 1979 to 2007, eight NASA spacecraft studied Jupiter. At the moment, the automatic research station "Juno" is in its orbit.