Atmosphere
Mostly hydrogen and helium, with colorful bands of ammonia and water clouds and lightning bolts more powerful than Earth’s.
Distance from Earth today
870.3M km
In astronomical units
5.818 AU
Light travel time
48m 23s
Overview.
Jupiter is more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined. More than 1,300 Earths could fit inside it.
Its striped clouds of ammonia race around the planet, and the Great Red Spot is a storm wider than Earth.
- Diameter
- 139,820 km
- Distance from Sun
- 778.5M km
- Year
- 11.9 Earth years
- Day
- 9h 56m
- Gravity
- 2.53 g
- Moons
- 95
The real Jupiter
Through spacecraft eyes.
Cassini’s true-color portrait reveals Jupiter’s turbulent cloud bands and Great Red Spot.
Image credit: NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute
Surface & interior
No solid surface — the gas gets denser until it becomes liquid metallic hydrogen surrounding a dense core.
Moons & rings
At least 95 moons, including Io (volcanoes), Europa (hidden ocean), Ganymede (largest moon in the solar system) and Callisto.
Missions.
- Pioneer 10 (1973)
- Galileo (1995–2003)
- Juno (2016–)
- Europa Clipper (en route)
Wow facts.
- Jupiter has the shortest day of any planet.
- It has faint rings made of dust.
- Its magnetic field is 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s.
Yana asks
Could there be life in the ocean under Europa’s ice?
Cover: artistic illustration. Spacecraft images and radar visualizations: credited NASA mission data.