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IntroductionThe Latest: On Jul. 17, 2018, scientists announced they had discovered 12 new moons orbiting Jupiter. That raised Jupiter’s total number of moons to 79—the most of any planet in the solar system. Fifty-three of the moons are confirmed and named; the other 26 are awaiting official confirmation of discovery before they are named.
The team first spotted the moons in the spring of 2017 while they were looking for very distant solar system objects as part of a hunt for a possible massive planet far beyond Pluto. “Our other discovery is a real oddball and has an orbit like no other known Jovian moon,” team leader Scott Sheppard said. “It’s also likely Jupiter’s smallest known moon, being less than one kilometer in diameter”.
The fifth planet from the Sun, and the most massive in our solar system, Jupiter has a long history surprising scientists—all the way back to 1610 when Galileo Galilei found the first moons beyond Earth. That discovery changed the way we see the universe. Explore Jupiter ›
Ten Things to Know About Jupiter
Eleven Earths could fit across Jupiter’s equator. If Earth were the size of a grape, Jupiter would be the size of a basketball. Jupiter orbits about 484 million miles (778 million kilometers) or 5.2 Astronomical Units (AU) from our Sun (Earth is one AU from the Sun). Jupiter rotates once about every 10 hours (a Jovian day), but takes about 12 Earth years to complete one orbit of the Sun (a Jovian year). Jupiter is a gas giant and so lacks an Earth-like surface. If it has a solid inner core at all, it’s likely only about the size of Earth. Jupiter's atmosphere is made up mostly of hydrogen (H2) and helium (He). Jupiter has 79 known moons. In 1979 the Voyager mission discovered Jupiter’s faint ring system. All four giant planets in our solar system have ring systems. Nine spacecraft have visited Jupiter. Seven flew by and two have orbited the gas giant. Juno, the most recent, arrived at Jupiter in 2016. Jupiter cannot support life as we know it. But some of Jupiter's moons have oceans beneath their crusts that might support life. Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a gigantic storm that’s about twice the size of Earth and has raged for over a century.
10 Things to Know About Jupiter
The Grandest Planet
Fifth Planet from Our Star
Short Day/Long Year
Jupiter's Bands of Clouds
What's Inside
Massive World, Light Elements
Worlds Galore
Ringed World
Exploring Jupiter
Ingredients for Life?
Super Storm
Juno's Eighth Close Approach to Jupiter
Did You Know?
There are no rockets powerful enough to hurl a spacecraft into the outer solar system and beyond. In 1962, scientists calculated how to use Jupiter's intense gravity to hurl spacecraft into the farthest regions of the solar system. We've been traveling farther and faster ever since.
Pop Culture
The biggest planet in our solar system, Jupiter also has a large presence in pop culture, including many movies, TV shows, video games and comics. Jupiter was a notable destination in the Wachowski siblings’ science fiction spectacle Jupiter Ascending, while various Jovian moons provide settings for Cloud Atlas, Futurama, Power Rangers, and Halo, among many others. In Men in Black when Agent J—played by Will Smith—mentions he thought one of his childhood teachers was from Venus, Agent K—played by Tommy Lee Jones—replies that she is actually from one of Jupiter’s moons.
Resources
Power to Explore: Radioisotope Power
