7. THE PROFILE OF JUPITER
Mass: 1,898,130,000,000,000,000 billion kg (317.83 x
Earth)
Equatorial Diameter: 142,984 km
Polar Diameter: 133,709 km
Equatorial Circumference: 439,264 km
Known Moons: 67
Notable Moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, & Callisto
Known Rings: 4
Orbit Distance: 778,340,821 km (5.20 AU)
Orbit Period: 4,332.82 Earth days (11.86 Earth years)
Surface Temperature: -108°C
First Record: 7th or 8th century BC
8. FACTS OF JUPITER
A. Jupiter has the shortest day of all the planets: It turns on its axis once
every 9 hours and 55 minutes. The rapid rotation flattens the planet
slightly, giving it an oblate shape.
B. Jupiter orbits the Sun once every 11.8 Earth years: From our point of
view on Earth, it appears to move slowly in the sky, taking months to
move from one constellation to another.
C. Jupiter has unique cloud features: The upper atmosphere of Jupiter is
divided into cloud belts and zones. They are made primarily of
ammonia crystals, sulfur, and mixtures of the two compounds.
D. The Great Red Spot is a huge storm on Jupiter: It has raged for at least
350 years. It is so large that three Earths could fit inside it.
E. Jupiter’s interior is made of rock, metal, and hydrogen compounds:
Below Jupiter’s massive atmosphere (which is made primarily of
hydrogen), there are layers of compressed hydrogen gas, liquid
metallic hydrogen, and a core of ice, rock, and metals.
9. IO THE VOLCANO MOON
Io- Is the
innermost of the
four Galilean
moons of the
planet Jupiter. It
is the fourth-
largest moon,
has the highest
density of all the
moons, and is the
driest known
object in the
Solar System. It
was discovered
in 1610.
10. THE DISCOVERY OF IO
Artist's concept of the internal structure of Jupiter's moon Io. A
global magma "ocean" (shown in orange) lies beneath a crust 30
to 50 kilometers thick. The rest of Io's mantle is shown in gold,
while the moon's core is rendered in silver.
Credit: Xianzhe Jia (University of Michigan) and Krishan Khurana
(UCLA)View full size image
Io was the first of Jupiter’s moons discovered by Galileo Galilei on
Jan. 8, 1610. He actually discovered the moon the day prior, but
could not differentiate between Io and Europa, another Jupiter
moon, until the next night. The discovery, along with three other
Jovian moons, was the first time a moon was discovered orbiting
a planet other than Earth. Galileo’s discovery eventually led to the
understanding that planets orbit the sun, instead of our solar
system revolving around Earth.
11. EUROPA THE ICY MOON
Europa- Is the
sixth-closest
moon of the
planet Jupiter,
and the smallest
of its four
Galilean
satellites, but still
the sixth-largest
moon in the Solar
System. Europa
was discovered
in 1610.
12. THE DISCOVERY OF EUROPA
Galileo Galilei discovered Europa on Jan. 8, 1610. It is possible
that German astronomer Simon Marius (1573-1624) also
discovered the moon at the same time. However, it is Galileo who
is most often credited with the discovery. For this reason, Europa
and Jupiter's other three largest moons are often called the
Galilean moons. Galileo, however, called the moons the
Medicean planets in honor of the Medici family.
It is possible Galileo actually observed Europa a day earlier, on
Jan. 7, 1610. However, because he was using a low-powered
telescope, he couldn't differentiate Europa from Io, another of
Jupiter's moons. It wasn't until later that Galileo realized they
were two separate bodies.
The discovery of the Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter helped
scientists realize that the planets in our solar system, including
Earth, revolved around the sun and not the Earth.
13. GANYMEDETHE LARGEST SATELLITE
Ganymede-
Is the largest
moon of Jupiter
and in the Solar
System, and the
only moon known
to have a
magnetosphere.
It is the seventh
satellite outward
from Jupiter and
third of the
Galilean moons.
14. THE DISCOVERY OF GANYMEDE
Ganymede was discovered by Galileo
Galilei on Jan. 7, 1610. The discovery, along
with three other Jovian moons, was the first
time a moon was discovered orbiting a planet
other than Earth. Galileo’s discovery
eventually led to the understanding that
planets orbit the sun, instead of our solar
system revolving around Earth.
15. CALLISTO THE DEAD MOON
Callisto- Is a
moon of the
planet Jupiter. It
was discovered
in 1610 by
Galileo Galilei. It
is the third-
largest moon in
the Solar
System and the
second largest
in the Jovian
system.
16. THE DISCOVERY OF CALLISTO
Callisto is the fourth of Jupiter’s moons to be
discovered by Galileo Galilei on Jan. 7, 1610.
The discovery, along with three other Jovian
moons, was the first time a moon was
discovered orbiting a planet other than Earth.
Galileo’s discovery eventually led to the
understanding that planets orbit the sun,
instead of our solar system revolving around
Earth.
21. PROFILE OF SATURN
Mass: 568,319,000,000,000,000 billion kg (95.16 x Earth)
Equatorial Diameter: 120,536 km
Polar Diameter: 108,728 km
Equatorial Circumference: 365,882 km
Known Moons: 62
Notable Moons: Titan, Rhea & Enceladus
Known Rings: 30+ (7 Groups)
Orbit Distance: 1,426,666,422 km (9.58 AU)
Orbit Period: 10,755.70 Earth days (29.45 Earth years)
Surface Temperature: -139 °C
First Record: 8th century BC
22. FACTS OF SATURN
A. It is the fifth brightest object in the solar system and is also
easily studied through binoculars or a small telescope
B. It is named for the roman god Saturnus, and was kown to
the Greeks as Cronus.
C. Its polar diameter is 90℅ of its equatorial diameter, this is
due to its low density and fast rotation. Saturn turns on its
axis once every 10 hours and 34 minutes giving the second
shortest day of any of the solar system’s planets.
D. All are frozen worlds. The largest moons are Titan and
Rhea. Enceladus appears to have an ocean below its
frozen surface.
E. It exist in layers that get denser farther into the planet.
Eventually, deep inside, the hydrogen becomes metallic. At
23. TITAN A LARGE SATELLITE
Titan- Is
the largest moon
of Saturn. It is the
only natural
satellite known to
have a
dense atmospher
e, and the only
object other
than Earth where
clear evidence of
stable bodies of
surface liquid has
been found.
24. THE ATMOSPHERE OF TITAN
Titan is surrounded by an orange haze that kept its surface a mystery for
Earth´s scientists until the arrival of the Cassini mission. Titan's
atmosphere extends about 370 miles high (about 600 kilometers), which
makes it a lot higher than Earth's atmosphere. Because the atmosphere
is so high, Titan was thought to be the largest moon in the solar system
for a long time. It wasn't until 1980 that Voyager was close enough to
discover it was actually smaller than Ganymede.
Titan's atmosphere is active and complex, and it is mainly composed of
nitrogen (95 percent) and methane (5 percent). Titan also has a
presence of organic molecules that contain carbon and hydrogen, and
that often include oxygen and other elements similar to what is found in
Earth's atmosphere and that are essential for life.
There is an unsolved mystery surrounding Titan's atmosphere: Because
methane is broken down by sunlight, scientists believe there is another
source that replenishes what is lost. One potential source of methane is
volcanic activity, but this has yet to be confirmed.
25. RHEA THE DIRTY SNOWBALL MOON
Rhea- Is the
second largest
moon of saturn
and the ninth-
largest moon in
the solar system.
It is the smallest
body in the solar
system
confirmed to be
in the hydrostatic
equilibrium. It
was discovered
in 1672.
26. THE DISCOVERY OF RHEA
Rhea is one of the four moons discovered by
Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini. He
spotted the icy moon on Dec. 23, 1672. It
was the second moon he observed, and the
third to be found in orbit around the ringed
planet. At 949 miles (1,528 kilometers) in
diameter, it is the second largest moon of
Saturn, but less than a third the size of the
largest contender, Titan.
27. ENCELADUS TINY, SHINY MOON
Enceladus- is
the sixth-
largest moon
of Saturn. It was
discovered in
1789 by William
Herschel, but
little was known
about it until the
two Voyager spa
cecraft passed
nearby in the
early 1980s.
28. THE DISCOVERY OF ENCELADUS
When Sir William Herschel turned his 1.2-
meter telescope toward the sky for its first
observation on Aug. 28, 1789, the new
instrument proved its worth by aiding him in
the discovery of a new moon around the
ringed planet, Saturn. Enceladus would be
the first of two moons discovered by
Herschel, and the sixth moon found orbiting
Saturn.