A planet is a cosmic object that revolves around the Sun and forms the Solar System with the other planets. The term "planet" comes from Greek word"wanderer". Before the creation of telescopes, planets, like stars, were viewed as objects moving across the sky. Technological advances have helped scientists greatly increase their knowledge of the planets, thanks to spacecraft as well as improved observations from Earth. Our solar system contains eight known planets, although there were originally nine after Pluto was discovered in the 1930s. However, in 2006, astronomers adopted an official definition of the term “planet” that Pluto did not meet and was downgraded to dwarf planet status.
Largest planets in the solar system:
Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest among all the eight planets orbiting the Sun. Its radius is 69,911 km. Jupiter is so gigantic that the other seven planets could fit inside it. This is the fifth planet from the Sun, named after the king of the Roman gods. The planet's atmosphere consists of gases, mainly hydrogen and helium. The surface of Jupiter is an ocean of liquid hydrogen.
Jupiter has white, yellow, thick red and brown clouds. These clouds move at high speeds in the opposite direction as the planet rotates on its axis. The famous vortex - the Great Red Spot, moves parallel to the plane of the planet's equator at high speed, and is larger than the Earth.
Jupiter has the strongest magnetosphere of any planet, almost 20,000 times stronger than Earth's. The planet rotates around its axis in just 10 hours. Jupiter has three faint rings made up of dust particles that are the remains of comets and asteroids. The planet completely completes its orbit around the Sun once every 11.86 Earth years.
Saturn
The planet Saturn has a radius of 58,282 (excluding rings) km and is the second largest among the planets of the Solar System. It is the sixth planet and is easily visible to the naked eye from Earth. The discovery of Saturn is not credited to any one person. It was named after the ancient Roman god Saturn. The planet rotates around its axis in 10 hours and 34 minutes, and around the Sun in 29.4 Earth years. Saturn's atmosphere has three layers: the first layer consists mainly of ammonia ice, the second includes water ice, and a mixture of hydrogen and sulfur makes up most of the third layer.
Saturn is predominantly composed of hydrogen. It has thin and wide rings formed from ice particles and small particles of carbonaceous dust. These particles are believed to be remnants of asteroids, moons and comets destroyed near Saturn. The planet is located 1,424,600,000 km from the Sun. Saturn has 62 known moons and is the most oblate planet in the solar system, mainly due to its low density and fast speed rotation.
Uranus
The discovery of the existence of the planet Uranus is attributed to the British astronomer William Herschel. This was an unprecedented discovery made on March 13, 1781. Uranus is in seventh position relative to distance from the Sun, preceding Neptune, and is also third in size with an average radius of 25,362 km. The name of the planet comes from the name of the ancient Greek deity of the sky - Ouranos. It takes Uranus 17 hours and 14 minutes to completely rotate around its axis, and about 84 Earth years to complete its orbit around the Sun. Uranus and Venus are the only planets of the eight known to move clockwise as they orbit the Sun. 80% of the planet consists of ice. Uranus has a pale blue color due to the presence of water, ammonia and methane ice in its outer atmosphere. Below the upper atmosphere there is a layer of hydrogen and helium. The planet contains a core of iron and magnesium silicate.
Neptune
Of all the known planets, Neptune is the most distant from the Sun. It was discovered on September 23, 1846 by Johann Gall. The discovery was facilitated by preliminary information from the French astronomer Urban Le Verrier and another independent British astronomer, John Cooch Adams. Neptune makes a complete revolution around the Sun once every 164.79 Earth years, has 14 satellites and five faint rings.
Neptune is gas planet, consisting mainly of hydrogen, helium and methane. Methane in the atmosphere absorbs red light in significant quantities, so Neptune has Blue colour. The name of the planet comes from Roman mythology, where Neptune was the god of the seas. The core is mainly composed of rock. The planet is experiencing a massive storm called the Great Dark Spot. The climate on Neptune is very active with strong storms and winds swirling around the planet at high speeds. Only one spaceship Called Voyager 2, it approached Neptune in 1989.
Other planets and Pluto
The others in size are in the following order: Earth with a radius of 6,371 km, Venus with a radius of 6,052 km, Mars with a radius of 3,390 km and Mercury with a radius of 2,440 km. It is noteworthy that the list does not include Pluto, which recently ceased to be considered the ninth planet. A new definition of the term "planet" adopted by astronomers in 2006 led to the reclassification of Pluto into the group of dwarf planets.
Table ranking the sizes of planets in the solar system in decreasing order
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Astronomers have been fascinated by Jupiter since the invention of the telescope. They admire the swirling clouds, the huge red spot, the numerous satellites, and the rings surrounding the planet. Jupiter's most impressive feature is its size - it is the largest planet solar system capable of containing several planets inside. The volume of the Earth is 1321 times greater. On average, the distance from Jupiter to the planets of the solar system is: to Earth - 627,644,160 kilometers; to the Sun -749 954 304. Flight time - about 5 years.
How many planets are there in the solar system
How many planets are there in? Until the end of the 1990s, there were 9 of them. Then astronomers decided to shorten the list by excluding the smallest planet in the solar system, Pluto, since it does not meet the definitions of the International Astronomical Union.
The length of the year depends on the location of the planets in the solar system. The further a planet is from the sun, the longer the year lasts. Jupiter is considered the fifth object in order of distance from the sun.
There are satellites of the planets of the solar system that are larger than Mercury. Perhaps we will soon hear about new planets in the solar system, because every astronomer strives to discover his own star. There are planets of other solar systems, they are called exoplanets. They were first discovered in 1992, and now more than 1,000 exoplanets have been found in the Milky Way galaxy.
Is life possible on Jupiter?
Thick, colorful clouds of deadly poisonous gases surround this giant planet. Its atmosphere consists of 86% hydrogen and 14% helium. It also contains traces of methane, water vapor and ammonia.
Closer to Jupiter's core, the thin, cold atmosphere becomes thicker and warmer, gradually turning into a thick, dark fog. Around there lies an ocean of liquid hydrogen, its depth is approximately 1000 kilometers.
Deep inside, intense pressure turns hydrogen into a liquid and then into a metal, forming a rocky core slightly larger than our planet but weighing 20 times more.
What's the weather like on Jupiter?
The average temperature in the clouds above the surface of Jupiter is -112⁰С; below the clouds the temperature is already about -13⁰С. The shorter the distance to the core, the higher the temperature becomes. On this turbulent planet, hurricanes and storms never end. Colored and white clouds, often changing shape due to constant storm winds, make it very colorful. Wind speeds often exceed 500 km/h. The large red spot, shaped like an eye, was caused by a giant storm that raged for over 300 years.
Storms on Jupiter are not caused by the sun, but come from radiation generated by the planet itself. Thunderstorm lightning is sometimes visible through the outer layers of the atmosphere. These electrical discharges are 1,000 times more powerful than a typical lightning strike on Earth.
Rings and moons of Jupiter
Jupiter has three that wrap around the planet horizontally; astronomers believe they originated from dust. The rings are almost invisible and can be seen when a planet passes in front of the Sun.
According to a list compiled by astronomers, Jupiter has 63 satellites, more than other planets in the solar system. The 4 Galilean moons are the most massive. They were discovered in 1610 by the great Italian astronomer Galileo.
Armed with powerful binoculars, you can spot them in the night sky:
- Ganymede is the largest moon and has a thin atmosphere of oxygen;
- Io is a volcanically active satellite, it has a surprisingly beautiful color from a mixture of black, red and yellow colors;
- Europe, on the other side of the Earth, is covered with ice and has a huge reserve sea salt. There is a possibility that life exists in the seas of Europe. Europa is the smallest satellite of the Galilean group;
- Callisto has many craters. This is the darkest satellite of the planet.
There are also other, smaller groups of satellites.
Many planets in the solar system are named after gods. The name Jupiter comes from the Roman god of sky and light.
What is unusual about this planet:
- it is one of five planets visible to the naked eye from Earth, the third brightest object in the sky after Venus and the Moon;
- Jupiter has a very strong magnetic field, 14 times that of Earth;
- the spacecraft will not be able to land on the planet, because it does not have a solid surface;
- Despite its impressive size, Jupiter rotates around its axis like a top, so a new day begins here in just 9 hours and 55 minutes.
- How much would you weigh on Jupiter? If your weight is 32 kg on Earth, it would be 84 kg here.
- The rapid rotation slightly flattens the planet, giving its body a flattened spheroid shape.
Jupiter was visited by 8 spacecraft. Thanks to them, reliable information about this giant was obtained. Scientists continue their research and, perhaps, new discoveries related to this amazing planet will soon appear.
To determine how big a planet is, you need to take into account criteria such as its mass and diameter. The largest planet in the solar system by 300 times more than Earth , and its diameter is eleven times greater than that of the earth. For a list of the largest planets in the Solar System, their names, sizes, photos and what they are known for, read our rating.
Diameter, mass, length of day and orbital radius are given relative to the Earth.
| Planet | Diameter | Weight | Orbital radius, a. e. | Orbital period, Earth years | Day | Density, kg/m³ | Satellites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.382 | 0.055 | 0.38 | 0.241 | 58.6 | 5427 | 0 | |
| 0.949 | 0.815 | 0.72 | 0.615 | 243 | 5243 | 0 | |
| Earth | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5515 | 1 |
| 0.53 | 0.107 | 1.52 | 1.88 | 1.03 | 3933 | 2 | |
| 11.2 | 318 | 5.2 | 11.86 | 0.414 | 1326 | 69 | |
| 9.41 | 95 | 9.54 | 29.46 | 0.426 | 687 | 62 | |
| 3.98 | 14.6 | 19.22 | 84.01 | 0.718 | 1270 | 27 | |
| 3.81 | 17.2 | 30.06 | 164.79 | 0.671 | 1638 | 14 | |
| 0.186 | 0.0022 | 39.2 | 248.09 | 6.387 | 1860 | 5 |
9. Pluto, diameter ~2370 km
Pluto is the second largest dwarf planet in the solar system after Ceres. Even when it was one of the full-fledged planets, it was far from the largest of them, since its mass is equal to 1/6 of the mass of the Moon. Pluto has a diameter of 2,370 km and is composed of rock and ice. It is not surprising that it is quite cold on its surface - minus 230 ° C
8. Mercury ∼ 4,879 km
A tiny world with a mass almost twenty times less than the mass of Earth, and a diameter 2 ½ less than Earth's. In fact, Mercury is closer in size to the Moon than to the Earth and is currently considered the smallest planet in the solar system. Mercury has a rocky surface dotted with craters. The Messenger spacecraft recently confirmed that deep craters on the shadowy side of Mercury contain icy water.
7. Mars ∼ 6,792 km
Mars is about half the size of Earth and has a diameter of 6.792 km. However, its mass is only a tenth of the earth's. This not very large planet in the solar system, the fourth closest to the Sun, has an inclination of its rotation axis of 25.1 degrees. Thanks to this, the seasons change on it, just like on Earth. A day (sol) on Mars is equal to 24 hours and 40 minutes. In the southern hemisphere, summers are hot and winters are cold, but in the northern hemisphere there are no such sharp contrasts, where both summers and winters are mild. You could say ideal conditions for building a greenhouse and growing potatoes.
6. Venus ∼ 12,100 km
In sixth place in the ranking of the largest and smallest planets is heavenly body, named after the goddess of beauty. It is so close to the Sun that it appears first in evening time and the last one to disappear in the morning. Therefore, Venus has long been known as the “evening star” and “morning star”. It has a diameter of 12,100 km, almost comparable to the size of the Earth (1000 km less), and 80% of the Earth's mass.
The surface of Venus is predominantly composed of great plains of volcanic origin, the rest from giant mountains. The atmosphere is composed of carbon dioxide, with thick clouds of sulfur dioxide. This atmosphere has the strongest greenhouse effect known in the solar system, and the temperature on Venus hovers around 460 degrees.
5. Earth ~ 12,742 km
The third planet closest to the Sun. Earth is the only planet in the solar system that has life. It has an axis tilt of 23.4 degrees, its diameter is 12,742 km, and its mass is 5.972 septillion kg.
The age of our planet is very respectable - 4.54 billion years. And most of this time it is accompanied by its natural satellite - the Moon. It is believed that the Moon was formed when the celestial body big size, namely Mars, impacted the Earth, causing the release of enough material that the Moon could form. The Moon has a stabilizing effect on the tilt of the Earth's axis and is the source of the tides of the oceans.
“It is rather inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is obvious that it is an Ocean” - Arthur C. Clarke.
4. Neptune ∼ 49,000 km
The gas giant planet of the Solar System is the eighth celestial body closest to the Sun. Neptune's diameter is 49,000 km, and its mass is 17 times that of Earth. It has powerful cloud bands (which, along with storms and cyclones, were photographed by Voyager 2). Wind speeds on Neptune reach 600 m/s. Because of his long distance from the Sun, the planet is one of the coldest, with temperatures in the upper atmosphere reaching minus 220 degrees Celsius.
3. Uranium ∼ 50,000 km
On the third line of the list of the largest planets in the solar system is the seventh closest to the Sun, the third largest and fourth heaviest of the worlds. The diameter of Uranus (50,000 km) is four times that of Earth, and its mass is 14 times more mass of our planet.
Uranus has 27 known moons, with sizes ranging from more than 1,500 km to less than 20 km in diameter. The planet's satellites consist of ice, rocks and other trace elements. Uranus itself has a rocky core surrounded by a blanket of water, ammonia and methane. The atmosphere consists of hydrogen, helium and methane with top layer clouds
2. Saturn ∼ 116,400 km
The second largest planet in the solar system is known for its ring system. It was first noticed by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Galileo believed that Saturn was accompanied by two other planets that were on either side of it. In 1655, Christian Huygens, using an improved telescope, was able to see Saturn in sufficient detail to suggest that there were rings around it. They extend from 7,000 km to 120,000 km above the surface of Saturn, which itself has a radius 9 times that of Earth (57,000 km) and a mass 95 times that of Earth.
1. Jupiter ∼ 142,974 km
The first number is the winner of the planetary heavy hit parade, Jupiter, the largest planet, bearing the name of the Roman king of the gods. One of the five planets visible to the naked eye. It is so massive that it would contain the rest of the worlds of the solar system, minus the sun. The total diameter of Jupiter is 142.984 km. Given its size, Jupiter rotates very quickly, making one rotation every 10 hours. At its equator there is a fairly large centrifugal force, due to which the planet has a pronounced hump. That is, the diameter of Jupiter's equator is 9000 km larger diameter, measured at the poles. As befits a king, Jupiter has many satellites (more than 60), but most of them are quite small (less than 10 km in diameter). The four largest moons, discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei, are named after the favorites of Zeus, the Greek equivalent of Jupiter.
What is known about Jupiter
Before the invention of the telescope, the planets were viewed as objects wandering across the sky. Therefore, the word “planet” is translated from Greek as “wanderer.” Our solar system has 8 known planets, although 9 celestial objects were originally recognized as planets. In the 1990s, Pluto was demoted from true planet status to dwarf planet status. A The largest planet in the solar system is called Jupiter.
The radius of the planet is 69,911 km. That is, all the largest planets in the solar system could fit inside Jupiter (see photo). And if we take only our Earth, then 1300 such planets will fit inside Jupiter’s body.
It is the fifth planet from the Sun. It is named after the Roman god.
Jupiter's atmosphere is made up of gases, mainly helium and hydrogen, which is why it is also called the gas giant of the solar system. The surface of Jupiter consists of an ocean of liquid hydrogen.
Jupiter has the strongest magnetosphere of all the other planets, 20 thousand times stronger than Earth's magnetosphere.
The largest planet in the solar system rotates around its axis faster than all its “neighbors”. One full revolution takes just under 10 hours (the Earth takes 24 hours). Because of this rapid rotation, Jupiter is convex at the equator and “flattened” at the poles. The planet is 7 percent wider at the equator than at the poles.
The largest celestial body in the solar system revolves around the Sun once every 11.86 Earth years.
Jupiter broadcasts radio waves so strong that they can be detected from Earth. They come in two forms:
- strong bursts that occur when Io, the closest of Jupiter's large moons, passes through certain regions magnetic field planets;
- continuous radiation from the surface and high-energy particles of Jupiter in its radiation belts. These radio waves could help scientists explore the oceans on the space giant's satellites.
The most unusual feature of Jupiter
Undoubtedly main feature Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a giant hurricane that has raged for more than 300 years.
- The diameter of the Great Red Spot is three times the diameter of the Earth, and its edge rotates around the center and counterclockwise at a tremendous speed (360 km per hour).
- The color of the storm, which typically ranges from brick red to light brown, may be due to the presence of small amounts of sulfur and phosphorus.
- The spot either increases or decreases over time. A hundred years ago, education was twice as large as it is now and significantly brighter.
There are many other spots on Jupiter, but for some reason they exist only in the Southern Hemisphere for a long time.
Rings of Jupiter
Unlike Saturn's rings, which are clearly visible from Earth even through small telescopes, Jupiter's rings are very difficult to see. Their existence became known thanks to data from Voyager 1 (a NASA spacecraft) in 1979, but their origin was a mystery. Data from spacecraft Galileo, which orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003, later confirmed that these rings were created by meteoroid impacts on small nearby moons of the huge planet itself.
Jupiter's ring system includes:
- halo - inner layer of small particles;
- the main ring is brighter than the other two;
- outer “web” ring.
The main ring is flattened, its thickness is about 30 km, and its width is 6400 km. The halo extends halfway from the main ring down to the tops of Jovian clouds and expands as it interacts with the planet's magnetic field. The third ring is known as the gossamer ring because of its transparency.
Meteorites striking the surface of Jupiter's small inner moons kick up dust, which then enters orbit around Jupiter, forming rings.
Jupiter has 53 confirmed moons orbiting it and another 14 unconfirmed moons.
Jupiter's four largest moons - called the Galilean moons - are Io, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto. The honor of their discovery belongs to Galileo Galilei, and this was in 1610. They are named in honor of those close to Zeus (whose Roman counterpart is Jupiter).
Volcanoes rage on Io; there is a subglacial ocean on Europa and perhaps there is life in it; Ganymede is the largest of the moons in the solar system, and has its own magnetosphere; and Callisto has the lowest reflectivity of the four Galilean satellites. There is a version that the surface of this moon consists of dark, colorless rock.
Video: Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system
We hope that we have given a complete answer to the question of which planet in the solar system is the largest!
We all know from school that the largest planet in the solar system is Jupiter. It is also gaseous. It also has satellites... Perhaps this is all the information about Jupiter that is retained in the memory of most people after leaving school. But this is not only a large, but also a very interesting planet, and it is worth knowing a lot more about it. Although it is possible that soon we will have the opportunity to find out what is not known to scientists at the moment.
Formation of Jupiter
Of course, no one can be absolutely sure of the correctness of the theory of the origin of the Solar system in general and Jupiter in particular. But still basic theory as follows.
About 4.6 billion years ago the solar system did not yet exist. There was only a cloud of gas and dust of unimaginable proportions. This cloud is now called the Solar Nebula. Over time, gravity caused matter to be absorbed into itself, and the Sun arose in the middle of the nebula.
After the star was born, the rest of the materials began to stick together. The smallest particles, under the influence of gravity, came closer and grew together, forming larger parts. The solar wind captured light helium and hydrogen, leaving rocks that later became the basis of planets terrestrial group. But at a considerable distance from the Sun, the solar wind could not have a significant influence. This made it possible lightweight materials unite and form the gas giant Jupiter. In a similar way, satellites, comets, and asteroids appeared.
In order for the gases that formed the planet not to be carried away by the solar wind, the gas giant had to form incredibly quickly. Already after the solid base of Jupiter reached a mass that is 10 times greater than the mass of the Earth, the attraction became sufficient to hold light gases without fear of the influence of the Solar wind. Despite the fact that Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, there are planets and bigger size. But few celestial bodies were able to form at the same speed.
There is another theory of the origin of Jupiter - the disk of instability model. The difference between this model and the basic one is that its followers believe that dust and gas were originally connected. In this case, a planet like Jupiter could arise in just a thousand years, while the usual birth period for a planet is several million years.
The emergence of such a massive celestial body at the very beginning of the birth of the Solar System most likely influenced the formation of other planets. Jupiter's mass gave it the ability to change the trajectory of small planets flying by. It was its gravity that could have contributed to the fact that some planets ended up on the inner boundaries of the Solar System, and others on the outer ones.
Discovery of Jupiter and moons
There was no discovery of Jupiter as such. After all, this planet is visible at night with the naked eye. Therefore, it is simply impossible to say who first noticed her. It is known for sure that they knew about the planet in ancient times. Religious Beliefs Greek, Mesopotamian, Babylonian and other cultures were based, in particular, on knowledge of the existence of Jupiter.
Subsequently, in 1610, Galileo discovered that this celestial body had satellites. For our star system, Jupiter is the largest planet. There are planets larger than this in the Galaxy. However, few planets can boast of so many moons. To date, 67 natural satellites of Jupiter have been discovered, the largest and most famous of which are Io, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. These four satellites were discovered by Galileo, who in this way proved the theory of Copernicus, who argued that the Earth is not the center of the universe.
History of the name
Jupiter received its name back in ancient times. It was named in honor of the main god of the Romans - a worthy name for the planet, the largest of all known even today. It is interesting that the ancient Greeks called the same planet Zeus, by analogy with the Romans, because in Greek mythology the king of the gods is Zeus. But still this name remained in Ancient Greece, only the Roman name of the planet has survived to our time.
Peculiarities
When a child asks which planet is the largest, we boldly answer that Jupiter. And we are right not only literally. After all, Jupiter is not just the largest in size of all the planets in the solar system. In addition, it is also much more massive than all the planets. Moreover, Jupiter is not heavier than each individual planet, but its weight is 2/3 greater than the weight of all the planets combined! Scientists believe that if Jupiter's mass were 80 times greater, it would have every chance of becoming a star.
But it is not only the high mass that gives Jupiter its resemblance to the Sun. Like our star, this planet is composed primarily of helium and hydrogen. He has 4 big moons And a large number of small moons. The Jupiter system is the solar system in miniature. Therefore, if a child asks which is the largest solar planet, you don’t have to correct him, but proudly answer: “Jupiter!”
If you look at this planet through a telescope, you can see beautiful light and dark stripes on it. These stripes are the movements of the wind raging in the atmosphere. Its speed is about 640 km/h.
The Great Red Spot looks especially unusual in photographs of Jupiter. More precisely, it is not the stain itself that is of interest, but what it is. The fact is that this is a hurricane, the wind speed at the edge of which reaches about 360 km/h. The size of this storm is three times the diameter of the Earth. But this is not even the strangest thing about this phenomenon. The most amazing thing is that the storm has been observed for more than 300 years, stopping only for a short time. However, the possibility of its termination has not yet been confirmed; this is only a hypothesis. The spot is called Red because Jupiter's clouds contain phosphorus and sulfur in ammonia crystals.
Jupiter's magnetic field is 20 thousand times greater than the Earth's. Like the planet itself, its magnetic field is the strongest in the solar system. Electromagnetic fields Jupiter's radiation is so strong that it damages specially protected aircraft that were sent to study it.
Day
Jupiter is the largest planet. In addition, she is also the most “nimble”. The fact is that this celestial body rotates around its axis faster than other known planets. And this is even taking into account its gigantic size. A day on Jupiter lasts less than 10 Earth hours. This speed of rotation led to the fact that at the equator the planet is more convex, so the equator is 7% wider than the poles.
Atmosphere of Jupiter
The largest planet is of extraordinary interest to scientists. In the world of this giant, everything is determined by the composition of the atmosphere. The gas giant has no solid surface elements on which it could land. aircraft. The surface of Jupiter consists of helium and hydrogen, with a small percentage of other gases present in the air.
Most of the giant's atmosphere is hydrogen (90%). Helium makes up about 10%. The rest, an extremely insignificant part, includes ammonia, water vapor, methane and sulfur.
If we assume that we can descend from the outer shell of Jupiter to its center, then we would encounter a strong increase in pressure and temperature. This is due to the separation of gases into layers. Deep under the shell, closer to the center of the planet, hydrogen is most likely in a liquid state. And even deeper, presumably, it turns into metal. It is the gigantic reserves of hydrogen and helium that make Jupiter the heaviest planet in the solar system.
The temperature of Jupiter's atmosphere ranges from -150 degrees Celsius in the lower troposphere to 725 degrees Celsius on the planet's surface. Somewhat higher is the thermosphere, which emits a glow. Heating comes from the Sun and from particles from the magnetosphere.
The upper layer of the atmosphere is the exosphere. It does not have a clear boundary, which allows gas particles to go on interstellar travel.
Center of Jupiter
The largest planet in the solar system definitely has a dense core. Its composition cannot be studied, but it is known that it is surrounded by a layer of liquid metallic hydrogen containing helium. It is wrapped in an atmosphere of molecular hydrogen.
The core weighs 10 times less than the Earth. The hydrogen around it makes up more than 80% of the planet's diameter.
Satellites and rings
Jupiter has at least 63 moons. The most famous of them are the Galilean satellites.
The largest planet in the solar system, as expected, has the largest satellite in our system. It is not just the largest satellite, its size exceeds the size of some planets - Pluto and Mercury. Moreover, he is the only one known to mankind satellites, which has a magnetic field.
Io is the most volcanically active body known to science. The sulfur released by this activity gives the satellite its yellow-orange color. Jupiter's gravity causes tides on solid Io, creating heat for volcanic activity.
Europe is completely covered in ice. If the ice melts, there will be twice as much water on Europa as on Earth. In addition, the existence of ice on Callisto and Ganymede is assumed.
Callisto has the lowest reflective effect. This means, most likely, that the entire surface of this satellite consists of colorless dark stone.
The largest planet, the “earths” of which were able to surprise scientists in 1979, also has rings. The three rings were discovered by Voyager 1 as it passed around the gas giant's equator.
The main ring has a smooth structure. Its thickness is about 30 kilometers and its width is 6400 km.
The inner cloud, called the halo, is about 20 thousand kilometers thick. It runs from the main ring to the final one, expanding under the influence of the planet's magnetic field. Both rings are composed of dark, small particles.
The third ring resembles a cobweb, as it is almost transparent. In fact, it consists of the smallest pieces of the giant’s three satellites: Thebes, Amalthea and Adrastea. The ring likely consists of dust particles the size of those found in cigarette smoke. This ring has the most impressive dimensions - 129 thousand kilometers wide and more than 30 thousand kilometers thick.
Planet size and position in the solar system
Jupiter has simply incredible dimensions! It is 318 times more massive than the Earth. Its diameter is 12 times the length of the equator of our home planet. Despite its weight, this planet is in fifth place in terms of density (it is 1326 g/cubic centimeter). This is easy to explain: gas is much less dense than rock. The structure of the gas giant is similar to the structure of our Star. However, in order for the hydrogen fusion that powers the star to start, it needs to be 75 times larger than it is now.
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. It is 778 million kilometers away from the star. Of course, Jupiter is our largest planet. In the Universe, such scales are not uncommon, but in the nearest star systems there is no such a massive planet.
Study and forecasts
The largest planet in the solar system began to be studied a long time ago, but detailed studies were organized only by NASA. Special meaning had a probe dropped into the atmosphere of Jupiter by the Galileo apparatus. In addition, the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft were sent for research. The last one to transmit information about Jupiter was the New Horizons probe, which was sent to Pluto.
Currently, Jupiter does not have artificial satellites, but the launch of another explorer of the gas giant is planned for 2016.
From Earth, Jupiter can be seen with an 80mm telescope. At this magnification, spots, protrusions and depressions will be visible. With an aperture of 150 mm or more, the Great Red Spot and small details of the belts will be visible.
During opposition, when observed from Earth, the largest planet in the solar system reaches an apparent magnitude of -2.94. Thus, Jupiter is the third brightest object in the sky. The rest of the time, the apparent magnitude becomes -1.6.
Since the observation of Jupiter has become available to every inhabitant of the Earth, the largest planet, photos of which have spread around the Internet and are objects of collections of stargazers, has become increasingly of interest to humanity.
Unfortunately, no one can foresee the future. And although it has long been known which planet is the largest, no one understands what awaits it in the future. There is an assumption that in the future Jupiter will become a star, and its moons will form peculiar planets, which will make it possible to move to live in this system when the life of the Sun comes to an end.
Interesting facts about Jupiter that everyone should know
- If we imagine that the Sun is no larger than the size of a door, then the Earth will be the size of a coin, and Jupiter will be like a basketball.
- Jupiter is the fifth solar planet.
- Jupiter's day lasts only 9 hours and 55 minutes. The planet travels around the Sun in almost 12 Earth years.
- Jupiter is a gas giant. However, it is generally accepted that deep below the gases there is a solid core, approximately equal to the size of the Earth.
- The giant's atmosphere consists of helium and hydrogen.
- Jupiter has weakly developed rings, discovered in 1979.
- Research on Jupiter and its moons has been going on for a long time. The next mission, Juno, will launch in 2016.
- There cannot be forms of life familiar to us on Jupiter. However, the presence of oceans on the satellites suggests that there may be some kind of life there.
- The Great Red Spot is a huge storm, larger than the diameter of the Earth. The hurricane has been raging for more than 300 years.
Our Universe is truly huge. Pulsars, planets, stars, black holes and hundreds of other objects of incomprehensible size that are found in the Universe.
And today we would like to talk about the 10 biggest things. In this list, we've put together a collection of some of the largest objects in space, including nebulae, pulsars, galaxies, planets, stars, and more.
Without further delay, here is a list of the ten biggest things in the universe.
The largest planet in the Universe is TrES-4. It was discovered in 2006 and is located in the constellation Hercules. The planet, called TrES-4, orbits a star that is about 1,400 light-years away from planet Earth.
The planet TrES-4 itself is a ball that consists primarily of hydrogen. Its dimensions are 20 times greater than the size of the Earth. Researchers claim that the diameter of the discovered planet is almost 2 times (more precisely 1.7) larger than the diameter of Jupiter (this is the largest planet in the solar system). The temperature of TrES-4 is about 1260 degrees Celsius.
To date the most a big star is UY Scutum in the constellation Scutum at a distance of about 9,500 light-years from us. This is one of the most bright stars- it is 340 thousand times brighter than our Sun. Its diameter is 2.4 billion km, which is 1700 times larger than our star, with a weight of only 30 times the mass of the sun. It’s a pity that it is constantly losing mass; it is also called the fastest burning star. This may be why some scientists consider NML Cygnus the largest star, and others consider VY Canis Majoris.
Black holes are not measured in kilometers; the key indicator is their mass. The largest black hole is in the galaxy NGC 1277, which is not the largest. However, the hole in the galaxy NGC 1277 has 17 billion solar masses, which is 17% of the total mass of the galaxy. By comparison, our Milky Way's black hole has a mass of 0.1% of the galaxy's total mass.
7. Largest galaxy
The mega-monster among the currently known galaxies is IC1101. The distance to Earth is about 1 billion light years. Its diameter is about 6 million light years and holds about 100 trillion. stars; for comparison, the diameter of the Milky Way is 100 thousand light years. Compared to the Milky Way, IC 1101 is more than 50 times larger and 2,000 times more massive.
Lyman-alpha rays (drops, clouds) represent amorphous bodies resembling amoebas or jellyfish in shape, consisting of a huge concentration of hydrogen. These blots are the initial and very short stage of the birth of a new galaxy. The largest of them, LAB-1, is more than 200 million light years wide and is located in the constellation Aquarius.
In the photo on the left, LAB-1 is recorded by instruments, on the right is an assumption of what it might look like up close.
A radio galaxy is a type of galaxy that has much greater radio emission compared to other galaxies.
Galaxies, as a rule, are located in clusters (clusters), which have a gravitational connection and expand with space and time. What is located in those places where there are no galaxies? Nothing! Regions of the Universe in which there is only “nothing” and is emptiness. The largest of them is the emptiness of Bootes. It is located in close proximity to the constellation Bootes and has a diameter of about 250 million light years. Distance to Earth approximately 1 billion light years
The largest supercluster of galaxies is the Shapley supercluster. Shapley is located in the constellation Centaurus and appears as a bright clump in the distribution of galaxies. This is the largest array of objects connected by gravity. Its length is 650 million light years.
The largest group of quasars (a quasar is a bright, energetic galaxy) is the Huge-LQG, also called U1.27. This structure consists of 73 quasars and has a diameter of 4 billion light years. However, the Great GRB Wall, which has a diameter of 10 billion light years, also claims primacy - the number of quasars is unknown. The presence of such large groups of quasars in the Universe contradicts Einstein’s Cosmological Principle, so their research is doubly interesting for scientists.
If astronomers have disputes about other objects in the Universe, then in this case almost all of them are unanimous in the opinion that the largest object in the Universe is the Cosmic Web. Endless clusters of galaxies surrounded by black matter form “nodes” and, with the help of gases, “threads”, which in appearance are very reminiscent of a three-dimensional web. Scientists believe that the cosmic web entangles the entire Universe and connects all objects in space.
