Interesting Facts About the Planet Jupiter

As a result of studies and researches about Jupiter, which is known for its colorful stripes and big red spot, we have reached a lot of information. Some of the information we have obtained proves what an interesting planet it is.

Let’s take a closer look at the interesting features of Jupiter together and get to know this gigantic planet closely.

Interesting facts about Jupiter:

Big enough to fit 1320 Earths inside:

We’ve actually heard many times that Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System. Still, that statement falls a little short of explaining his greatness. In numbers, Jupiter is 2.5 times larger than all the other planets in the Solar System combined. Its mass is exactly 318 times that of the Earth. In other words, it is big enough to fit 1320 Earths inside.

The Great Red Spot on it is a planet-size storm that has been going on for a century:

Red Spot image captured by NASA’s Juno Spacecraft

British Scientist Robert Hooke photographed Jupiter’s red spot for the first time in 1664. Astronomers have researched for many years what this red spot is. It was understood after NASA’s work with the Voyager 1 Space Probe on February 25, 1979 that this spot is an anticyclonic storm (winds swirling around the high atmospheric pressure region) that has been going on for 350 years. This ‘Great Red Spot’ is four times larger than Earth…

The Babylonians, the civilization that first observed Jupiter:

The work of the Babylonians, an ancient Mesopotamian civilization, in the fields of mathematics and geometry is known by everyone. According to a study published in the Journal of Science, it was revealed that the Babylonians observed Jupiter thanks to these studies.

Professor Mathieu Ossendrijver from Berlin Humboldt University stated that he came across studies conducted to calculate when Jupiter will be seen at night, speed and distance in the Babylonian tablets he examined.

A day on Jupiter lasts 9 hours 55 minutes:

Jupiter is the planet with the shortest day length in the Solar System. A day on Jupiter, which is also the fastest rotating planet in the Solar System with a rotation speed of 45,300 km/s, takes only 9 hours and 55 minutes. The time it takes for Jupiter to make one full revolution around the Sun is equal to 11.8 Earth years.

Actually, Jupiter also has rings:

Saturn is always thought to be the only planet with a ring structure in our Solar System. In fact, Jupiter has a similar ring structure. First observed by the Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1979, these rings of space dust are much less massive than Saturn’s rings, so they cannot reflect the Sun’s rays and cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Protecting Earth from asteroids:

Jupiter is actually a guardian angel for our Earth. Jupiter’s massive gravitational influence prevents asteroids from dispersing throughout the Solar System. Asteroids, which may pose a threat to Earth, are also caught by Jupiter’s gravitational force and change direction. Of course, it is also necessary to know that an asteroid that does not normally target the Earth can target the Earth with the influence of other planets in the Solar System.

NASA’s spacecraft Juno observed geometric shapes at Jupiter’s poles:

NASA’s spacecraft Juno, tasked with studying Jupiter, imaged Jupiter’s poles with infrared cameras in 2018. Giant gas cloud clusters of various geometric shapes were observed in the incoming images. Also earlier, Juno had discovered that aurorae formed at Jupiter’s south pole.