Download Jupiter Fun Facts

Jupiter Fun Facts
Astronomy
red
gas
Jovian
1610
Name:
Galilean
System
largest
poles
Period:
254
Sun
moon
fifth
gravity
axis
field
Jupiter is the ________________________ planet from the Sun and the
________________________ planet in our Solar System. It is a gas giant planet that has a thick
atmosphere, dozens of moons, and a dark, barely-visible ring. Jupiter's most prominent features
are bands across its latitudes and a great ________________________ spot (which is a huge
storm). Jupiter was named after the Roman primary god, Jupiter.
Jupiter is composed mostly of ________________________. This enormous planet radiates
twice as much heat as it absorbs from the ________________________. It also has an extremely
strong magnetic ________________________. The planet is slightly flattened at its
________________________ and it bulges out a bit at the equator.
It takes Jupiter 9.8 Earth hours to revolve around its ________________________ (this is a
Jovian day). It takes 11.86 Earth years for Jupiter to orbit the Sun once (this is a
________________________ year).
Jupiter's diameter is 88,700 miles (142,800 km). This is a little more than 11 times the diameter
of the Earth. Jupiter is so big that all the other planets in our Solar ________________________
could fit inside Jupiter (if it were hollow).
Jupiter's mass is about 318 times the mass of the Earth, but the ________________________ on
Jupiter is only about 2.54 times of the gravity on Earth. This is because Jupiter is such a large
planet (and the gravitational force a planet exerts upon an object at the planet's surface is
proportional to its mass and to the inverse of its radius squared). A 100-pound person would
weigh ________________________ pounds on Jupiter.
In ________________________, Galileo first discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter, Io
(which is volcanically active), Europa, Ganymede (the largest of Jupiter's moons), and Callisto;
these moons are known as the ________________________ moons. Ganymede is the largest
________________________ in the Solar System.
In Summary:
1. Is Jupiter composed mostly of solids or gases?_________________
2. Jupiter is about 11-times, 111-times or 1,111-times bigger than the Earth. _____________
3. How many moons orbit Jupiter?_______________________
4. Who discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter in the 1600's?_______________________
5. What is the major component of Jupiter's atmosphere? _________________
6. How long is a Jovian day (a day on Jupiter)? _______________________
7. How long is a Jovian year?_______________________
8. Is Jupiter's Great Red Spot a deposit of iron-rich soil, a storm, or a huge crater?
_______________________
9. Does Jupiter have any rings? ______________________
10. Can you ever see Jupiter from Earth without using a telescope? ________________