Jupiter Facts for Kids

Jupiter is one of the most colorful and beautiful planets in the solar system. It is also the largest planet known in the solar system. Do you know that Jupiter rotates in only 10 hours, while revolution takes a considerable time, i.e. 12 years? This means a single day on Jupiter lasts only for 10 hours; but, has a long year! There are several interesting Jupiter facts relating to the size, structure and characteristics of this planet. Let us take a look at it in detail.

Jupiter Planet Facts for Kids

Galileo is credited to be the first person to view and discover Jupiter. Now, here are some interesting Jupiter facts.

• The size of Jupiter is so huge that more than 1000 Earths could easily fit inside 1 Jupiter.
• Jupiter is characterized by huge hurricanes, winds, jet streams and storms. A huge ocean of liquid hydrogen is found at the core of the Jupiter.
• On taking a closer look at the planet Jupiter, you will find a red spot which actually is a giant storm that has been going for around 300 years.
• One of the most interesting facts about Jupiter is that no solid surface is found on the planet. The atmosphere here gets converted into ocean after a specific duration of time and hence, no solid surface is found.
• When thinking of Jupiter fun facts, note that there are no seasons found on this planet because it is not tilted like the Earth.
• This planet has an extraordinarily strong magnetic field. It is more than 20,000 times powerful than that of Earth.
• Jupiter also has a great gravity due to its great size. It is also said that the gravitational force of this planet is so massive that most of its moons are known to be acquired rather than being formed naturally.
• The moons of Jupiter have always been of an interest all over the world. Ganymede is the largest while Io is the smallest satellite or moon of Jupiter. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are known as Galilean satellites as they were discovered by Galileo.
• Do you know how many moons does Jupiter have? Well, the exact number is 63 and Adrastea, Amalthea, Carme, Callisto, Europa, Elara, Ganymede, Himalia, Leda, Lysithea, Metis, Pasiphae, Sinope, Thebe, W1302, W1700, W1704, W1704_2, W1800, W1903_s, W1805, W1902, W1904, W2002_2, and W1700_2 are the names of some of these moons.
• Planet Jupiter has a characteristic ring system, known as rings of Jupiter, which are formed from the debris of other planetary objects. Halo and Gossamer Ring are its major rings.
• A person tends to weigh more on Jupiter than on Earth. This is because the gravitational force on Jupiter is higher than that of Earth.
• Another interesting Jupiter facts for kids is that this planet and some of its stars can be viewed from the Earth through naked eye. The planet is one of the brightest point seen in the sky.
• Interestingly, the planet Jupiter has been visited by spacecrafts for numerous times since 1973 by NASA's spacecrafts, viz., Pioneer, Voyager, Ulysses, Cassini, New Horizons, etc.

Quick Facts About Jupiter

• Average Distance from Sun ~ 778,570,000 km
• Diameter ~ 142,984 km
• Mass ~ 1.900 x 1027 kg
• Density ~ 1.33 g/cm3
• Volume ~ 1.377 x 1015 km3
• Composition ~ Hydrogen and Helium

I hope you enjoyed reading these Jupiter facts. Astronomy is definitely one of the most interesting subjects in the world. As a kid, you should surely visit a planetarium and know more on the universe and the planetary system. I am sure you will not get bored! Good luck!