JUPITERMatt

NShaun

Jewpiter

•Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun and is by far the largest.

•Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

•Jupiter is primarily composed of hydrogen withh only 1/4 of its mass being helium.

• Thatʻs a lot of gas.

Structure

•Jupiter is composed of mostly gaseous and liquid matter.

It is the largest planet in the solar system with a diameter of 142,984 km at its equator.

The density of Jupiter is approximatly 1.326 g/cm3

Jupiter is the second densest amongst the gas giants, however

Composition

• The upper atmosphere is composed of about 88-92% hyrdogen and roughly 8-12%

• The atmosphere is approximately 75% hydrogen and 24% helium with 5% of the mass consisting of other elements.

• The outermost layer of the atmosphere contains crystals of frozen ammonia.

•Saturn is thought to be similar in composition to Jupiter, but the other gas giants Uranus and Neptune have relatively much less hydrogen and helium.

Mass of Jupiter

•Jupiter is 2.5 times the mass of all other planets within our solar system combined.

•Theoretical models indicate that if Jupiter had much more mass than it does at present because the planet would shrink.

•For small changes in mass, the radius would not change appreciably, and is known to shrink 2cm per year.

Jupiter was known to be much hotter and about twice itʻs current diameter when it was first formed.

Cloud layers

Jupiter is perpetually covered with clouds composed of ammonia crystals and possibly ammonium hydrosulfide.

The cloud layer is only about 50 km deep, and consists of at least two decks of clouds, a thick lower deck and thin clearer region.

There is evidence of flashes of lightning detected in the atmosphere which can be up to a thousand times as powerful as lightning on Earth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khMofDSE0-0