Find all the latest news on Jupiter's moons, including the search for life on Europa, here.
Latest News About Jupiter
Jupiter's Great Red Spot is being squeezed, Hubble Telescope finds — and nobody knows why
October 10, 2024
Jupiter's famous spot has been under constant observation since the 19th century, but this new development is unprecedented. Read more
Study shows how amateur astronomers can aid in Jupiter weather monitoring
September 5, 2024
Jupiter's weather can be observed using relatively inexpensive equipment Read more
Scientists use Jupiter to search for dark matter
August 19, 2024
The “null result” is still useful, suggesting a maximum size for dark matter particles Read more
Does Jupiter protect Earth from asteroids and comets?
July 30, 2024
Jupiter has been considered our biggest ally, but recent research has contradicted this reputation Read more
NASA’s Juno mission captures the colorful and chaotic clouds of Jupiter
July 19, 2024
It provides a detailed view of an area known as a folded filamentary region Read more
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot keeps shrinking
July 19, 2024
There could be fewer storms for the bright red anticyclone to consume Read more
Do dark matter collisions on Jupiter glow in the infrared?
July 10, 2024
So far, we haven’t been able to detect dark matter (or dark energy) directly Read more
Jupiter’s red spot might not be the same one discovered centuries ago
June 29, 2024
A pioneer of telescopic astronomy, Cassini first saw the spot in 1665 as a dark oval Read more
Astronomers find surprises in region of Jupiter thought 'really boring'
June 27, 2024
They spotted some bizarre patterns just above its famous Great Red Spot Read more
Using oceanography to understand fronts and cyclones on Jupiter
June 6, 2024
The roiling storms on Jupiter are powered by the same processes as Earth’s oceans and atmosphere Read more
How auroras on Earth, Saturn and Jupiter could help forecast risky space weather
June 2, 2024
"Our study revealed the complex interplay between solar wind and planetary rotation" Read more
Jupiter’s magnetosphere has a semi-open relationship with the solar wind
May 22, 2024
Jupiter’s magnetosphere is one of the largest known phenomena in the solar system Read more
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
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