Hobbies And Interests
Size
Jupiter is over five times more distant from the Sun than the Earth is, averaging some 484 million miles away. It is about 460 million miles from the Sun at its closest point in its elliptical orbit, and 508 million miles at its farthest. Eleven times the diameter of the earth, Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in the sky after the Sun, Moon, and Venus. It would be possible to stuff over a thousand planets the size of Earth into Jupiter.
Time Frame
It takes the giant Jupiter nine hours and fifty minutes to turn once on its axis. This means a day on Jupiter is less than ten hours, the shortest in the entire solar system. However, a year there is another story. Because of its great distance from the Sun, Jupiter takes almost 12 full Earth years to orbit the star.
Considerations
It takes a probe from Earth more than two years on average to reach Jupiter. Probes, in the past, have found new moons and also that Jupiter has three very faint rings of fine particles circling its equator. The Great Red Spot, a huge area visible on the gaseous surface of Jupiter, was shown to be a storm that is three times larger than the diameter of our planet.
Misconceptions
Jupiter's huge size, larger than all of the other planets in the solar system combined, has always been known. However, a British astronomer took it to new lengths in 1976 when he declared that as Pluto passed behind Jupiter it would weaken the Earth's gravitational field for a few seconds. This fellow told radio listeners to jump in the air at 9:47 in the morning and they would feel a floating sensation. Needless to say Jupiter's distance from the Sun and the Earth makes this impossible, but thousands of people listened and did just that, leaping into the air. Many called to say how they felt weightless, not realizing that it was April Fool's Day.
Theories/Speculation
Scientists feel Jupiter has so many moons because the gaseous material the planet formed from also condensed into smaller heavenly bodies that were captured by the gravitational pull of the huge planet. The incredible number of miles that Jupiter is from the Sun doesn't mean it is a totally frozen world. It is comprised of many layers of hydrogen gases, but experts think that at a certain depth the temperature is actually about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the toxic conditions would not allow life as we know it.