This document discusses Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. It provides several key facts about Jupiter's physical characteristics such as its composition of gases, rapid rotation period of under 10 hours, and oblate shape. The document also discusses Jupiter's moons, notably Ganymede which is larger than Mercury. Finally, it provides some background on Jupiter in mythology, noting it was called Zeus by Greeks and was the king of the Roman gods who governed the sky.

1. Standard July 12, 2016 by Amara Esinna0 Comments
The planet Jupiter is the (5th
) planet out from the Sun,
and is two and a half times more massive than all
otherplanets in the solar system combined. It is made
primarily of gases and is therefore known as a “gas
giant”. This is just a tip of an ice berg. In this article,
you will find a bit of elementary science mixed with
mythology that will make your day. Followme as we
uncover some interesting and mind blowing facts you
wish you knew about this singular planet.
 Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in the solar
system; this means, only the Sun, Moon and
Venus are brighter than Jupiter.
 It is one of the five planetsvisible to the naked eye
from Earth; hence, if you head outsideto a good
viewing point about an hour before sunrise, you
can catch a glimpse of Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter,
Mars, and Venus. Meanwhile, the ancient
Babylonianswere the first to record sightings of
Jupiter. This was around the 7th or 8th century
BC.

2. 
To the Greeks, it
represented Zeus, the god of thunder. The
Mesopotamians saw Jupiter as the god Marduk
and patron of the city of Babylon.
 Germanic tribes saw this planet as Donar, or Thor.

3.  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 oblateshape.
 Jupiter orbits the Sun once every 11.8 Earth years.
Hence, from our point of view on Earth, it appears
to move slowly in the sky, taking months to move
from one constellationto another.
 Just like our earth, Jupiter has unique cloud
features. The upperatmosphere of Jupiter is
divided into cloud belts and zones. They are made
primarily of ammonia crystals, sulfur, and
mixtures of the two compounds.
 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.
 Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is the largest moon in
the solar system. Jupiter’s moons are sometimes
called the Jovian satellites,the largest of these
are Ganymeade, CallistoIo and Europa.
Ganymeade measures 5,268 km across, making it
larger than the planet Mercury.

4.  Eight spacecraftshave visited Jupiter,
namely; Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager
1 and 2, Galileo, Cassini,Ulysses, and New
. mission is on
its way to Jupiter and will arrive this Month
(July 2016).
As you already know; our Solar System has
eight planets which orbit the sun. In order of
distance from the sun, they are; Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
and Neptune. Pluto, which until recently was
considered to be the farthest planet, is now
classified as a dwarf planet. In other words,
instead of the initial 9 planets taught to us
in school days, what we have now is 8
planets, so make no mistakes about that.
Jupiter is named after the king of the Roman gods. To
the Greeks, it represented Zeus, the god of thunder.
 Jupiter also known as (Lūpiter: Latin) is the god of
sky and thunderand king of the gods in Ancient
Roman religion and mythology. Jupiter was the
chief deity of Roman state religion throughoutthe
Republican and Imperial eras, until Christianity
became the dominant religion of the Empire.

5.  In Roman mythology, he negotiates with Numa
Pompilius, the second king of Rome, to establish
principles of Roman religion such as sacrifice.
 Jupiter is usuallythought to have originated as a
sky god. His identifying tool (presence)
was the thunderboltand his primary sacred
animal was the eagle, which held precedenceover
otherbirds in supportsand became one of the most
common symbols of the Roman army.

9. 
government depended.

 Many of his functions were focused on
the Capitoline Hill, where the citadel was located.
He was the chief deity of the early Capitoline
Triad with Mars and Quirinus. His sacred tree was
the oak tree.
 The Romans regarded Jupiter as the equivalent of
the Greek Zeus, and in Latin literatureand Roman
art, the myths and iconography of Zeus are
adapted underthe name Lupiter. In the Greek-
influenced tradition, Jupiter was the brother
of Neptune and Pluto.
 Each presided over one of the three realms of the
universe: sky, the waters, and the underworld.