JUPITER Dominating the Solar System
Find all the latest news on Jupiter's moons, including the search for life on Europa, here.
Latest News About Jupiter
Exotic rain drenches Jupiter
March 23, 2024
Where the droplets are forming, the temperature is 5,000 °C, and the pressure is 2 million times Earth’s surface pressure Read more
Hubble spies stormy weather and a shrinking Great Red Spot (video)
March 15, 2024
It seems that the extra solar heating of Jovian summer is still stirring up its atmosphere Read more
Juno spacecraft spotted a mysterious phenomenon buried beneath Jupiter’s atmosphere
March 6, 2024
This could help explain how the universe itself functions Read more
Spot the King of Planets: Observe Jupiter
February 15, 2024
Jupiter is bright and easy to spot from our vantage point on Earth Read more
Jupiter has a never-before-seen jet stream — and it’s speedy
December 18, 2023
This high-altitude current may help untangle what’s happening above planets’ equators Read more
Object smacks Jupiter and explodes, space footage shows
November 18, 2023
The bright flash is a bolide - a shooting star in the atmosphere of Jupiter Read more
NASA’s Juno finds Jupiter’s winds penetrate in cylindrical layers
November 9, 2023
The finding offers deeper insights into the long-debated internal structure of the gas giant Read more
Jupiter's Great Red Spot turns blue in new ultraviolet view from Hubble Telescope
November 3, 2023
Viewing Jupiter in ultraviolet light really brings out the planet's storms Read more
NASA shares image of spooky ‘face’ on Jupiter
October 31, 2023
JunoCam captured an image that looks like something from The Twilight Zone Read more
NASA's JWST discovers new feature in Jupiter's atmosphere
October 19, 2023
A narrow jet stream near equator has winds traveling 320 miles per hour Read more
A fireball whacked into Jupiter, and astronomers got it on video
September 15, 2023
Scientists want to use data like this to study our Solar System’s birth Read more
Cyclone rages on Jupiter in jaw-dropping new images from Juno
September 14, 2023
It's nicknamed “Cyclone Bindi” by citizen scientist Navaneeth Krishnan S, who processed it Read more
NASA's Juno shares stunning close-up images of Jupiter and its storms
August 29, 2023
Internet users flooded the comment section with lovestruck and fire emojis Read more
NASA probe finds giant swirling waves in Jupiter's magnetosphere
July 27, 2023
They're not visible to the naked eye, but can be detected in observations of plasma Read more
NASA's Juno mission observes high-altitude hazes in Jupiter's atmosphere
June 22, 2023
Bands of high-altitude haze form above cyclones Read more
Alien green flash: Lightning crackles in vortex near Jupiter's north pole
June 17, 2023
Citizen scientist Kevin Gill processed the image Read more
Why does Jupiter change its stripes? Scientists may finally have the answer
May 25, 2023
It has to do with shifts in Jupiter's magnetic field Read more
Jupiter’s lightning bolts contort the same way as Earth’s
May 23, 2023
Collisions of water and ice might build electric charge on both planets Read more
Baby Jupiter glowed so brightly it might have desiccated its moon
March 28, 2023
The findings could aid the search for icy moons orbiting exoplanets Read more
Hubble monitors changing weather and seasons at Jupiter and Uranus
March 23, 2023
Hubble's sensitivity keeps an eye on complex activities over time Read more
40-year research reveals puzzling patterns in Jupiter’s temperature
January 3, 2023
Data from NASA missions could help predict weather on Jupiter Read more
NASA's Juno views northern cyclones on Jupiter
December 14, 2022
Jupiter's northernmost cyclone is visible to the right along the bottom edge of this image Read more
Why this puzzling new image Of Jupiter could help us find life beyond Earth
November 12, 2022
Astronomy is merely the study of light Read more
The light show of Jupiter's dark side
November 3, 2022
The unique vantage point of NASA’s Juno spacecraft has revealed a new side to Jupiter’s auroras Read more
Heatwave on Jupiter, from its aurora
October 3, 2022
It’s hundreds of degrees hotter than models predict Read more
Scientists looked at nine cyclones swirling at Jupiter's north pole
September 26, 2022
Images from the Juno spacecraft revealed bizarre, organized storms on Jupiter Read more
James Webb Space Telescope shows Jupiter in a new light
August 31, 2022
NASA’s latest space telescope reveals stunning details in the gas giant’s cloud tops, aurorae, and faint rings Read more
NASA's Juno mission reveals Jupiter's complex colors
August 30, 2022
Citizen scientist Björn Jónsson created these two images using raw data from the JunoCam instrument Read more
Why doesn’t Jupiter have even more spectacular rings than Saturn?
August 8, 2022
Jupiter is bigger and more massive, but Saturn puts it to shame Read more
Jupiter missions could also help search for dark matter
August 6, 2022
Why do scientists continue to study this mysterious—and completely invisible—phenomena? Read more
Fascinating Facts About Jupiter
- If the sun were as tall as a typical front door, the Earth would be the size of a nickel and Jupiter would be about as big as a basketball.
- From Jupiter’s surface, the Sun appears about one-fifth as large as it does from Earth and sunlight appears about 27 times dimmer.
- Jupiter spins on its axis in about 10 hours; this is the shortest spin time of any of the other planets.
- Jupiter is two times more massive than all the other planets combined.
- The planet’s magnetic field at the cloud tops is about 14 times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field measured at its surface.
- Jupiter emits about 1.6 times the energy it receives from the Sun. This energy is thought to come from the continued cooling of the planet after its gravitational collapse during the formation of the solar system. Because of this, the weather on the planet is internally driven: it depends on the energy emitted by the planet itself. On the other hand, the weather on Earth is externally driven, by the sun.
- If Jupiter was 80 times more massive than its current size, it would have become a star.
- The Great Red Spot is a giant hurricane-like storm that has been monitored since 1830 but it has possibly existed for more than 350 years.
Missions
Juno (2011)
Mission to understand origin and evolution of Jupiter, look for solid planetary core, study magnetic field and atmosphere and observe auroras
Voyager 1 & 2 (1977)
Mission to explore Jupiter and Saturn, but later extended to Uranus and Neptune as well
Pioneer 10 & 11 (1972-1973)
Jupiter flyby and continued mission to explore the outer solar system
Galileo (1989)
Mission to study Jupiter and its moons