JUPITER
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Jupiter is the biggest of all the Planets and is made up of hydrogen and helium gases. These same gases make up the Sun, but Jupiter would have to contain 80 times more gas before it could shine like a star.
Regardless of its size, Jupiter spins faster than every other Planet
¾ Jupiter’s day lasts only 10 hours. Due to its speedy spin, Jupiter can whip clouds into storms as big as a continent on Earth. Winds can rage up to 500 km per hour with huge bolts of lightning crackling in the thunderclouds. Jupiter has a diameter of 142 980 km and is 778 million km from the Sun.Jupiter’s gravity is so strong that it controls a family of 16 moons. Twelve are the size of small asteroids. Four of Jupiter’s moons are larger than Pluto.
Io
Io is a world of volcanoes. These volcanoes not only erupt with molten rock, but they also pour liquid sulphur over the surface. Io has a diameter of 3630 km and is Jupiter’s 3rd largest moon.
Europa
Voyager 1 and 2 and Galileo spacecraft discovered that Europa is completely covered with ice. Europa has a diameter of 3140 and is Jupiter’s 4th largest moon.
Ganymede
Ganymede is so big that if it orbited the Sun instead of Jupiter, we would call it a Planet. It’s the biggest moon in the Solar System, more than twice as large as Pluto and slightly larger than Mercury. Ganymede has a diameter of 5260 km and is Jupiter’s largest moon.
Callisto
Thousands of craters pepper Calisto’s icy surface. This moon has hardly changed in for millions of years. Its diameter is 4800 km and is Jupiter’s 2nd largest moon.
Wow! That’s Incredible!