Space / Astronomy: What's Hot Now: Jupiter - Astronomy Pictures, History and Facts

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Jupiter - Astronomy Pictures, History and Facts Feb 17th 2012, 11:06 MEAN RADIUS: 69911 km MASS: 317.8 (Earth=1) DENSITY: 1.31 (g/cm^3) GRAVITY: 2.34 (Earth=1) ORBIT PERIOD: 11.86 (Earth years) ROTATION PERIOD: .414 (Earth days) SEMIMAJOR AXIS OF ORBIT: 5.2 au ECCENTRICITY OF ORBIT: 0.004 Jupiter Named after Jove, the chief god of Roman mythology, Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet in Earth's solar system. Besides the Sun, the Moon, and Venus, Jupiter is the brightest object in Earth's sky, often mistaken as a star. It is more than three times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star. The Italian scientist, Galileo was the first astronomer to view Jupiter through a telescope. While viewing Jupiter, he observed four satellites orbiting the planet, which lent credence to the Copernican theory that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. Previously, many people held to the belief, developed by 2nd century astronomer, Ptolemy, that everything revolved around the Earth. Galileo's discovery was a major step forward for astronomy. Jupiter's satellites are mostly named for his mythological lovers. Many smaller moons have been discovered recently, but are as yet unnamed.   Distance Radius Mass     Satellite (000 km) (km) (kg) Discoverer Date ------- ------- ----- -------------- --------- --- Metis 128 20 9.56e16 Synnott 1979 Adrastea 129 10 1.91e16 Jewitt 1979 Amalthea 181 98 7.17e18 Barnard 1892 Thebe 222 50 7.77e17 Synnott 1979 Io 422 1815 8.94e22 Galileo 1610 Europa 671 1569 4.80e22 Galileo 1610 Ganymede 1070 2631 1.48e23 Galileo 1610 Callisto 1883 2400 1.08e23 Galileo 1610 Leda 11094 8 5.68e15 Kowal 1974 Himalia 11480 93 9.56e18 Perrine 1904 Lysithea 11720 18 7.77e16 Nicholson 1938 Elara 11737 38 7.77e17 Perrine 1905 Ananke 21200 15 3.82e16 Nicholson 1951 Carme 22600 20 9.56e16 Nicholson 1938 Pasiphae 23500 25 1.91e17 Melotte 1908 Sinope 23700 18 7.77e16 Nicholson 1914

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