Jupiter and Saturn

Pic: The Tribune

Jupiter

The largest planet in the Solar System is Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun. Along with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Jupiter is called a gas giant. These planets do not have a solid surface because they are not made of rock or other hard materials.

What is Jupiter's red spot?

The Great Red Spot or GRS is a huge swirling storm in Jupiter's atmosphere. It is 26,000 kilometres across and has been going on for at least 330 years.

'Spacecrafts have taken

vivid images of the storm,

with its red centre and

wavy cloud formations.'

How many moons does Jupiter have?

Jupiter has 50 moons and 18 provisional moons. Many of them are very small, 47 are less than 10 kilometres in diameter. The four largest are called Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

IO - 'It has more than 300

volcanoes, making it

the most geologically

active object in the

solar system.

Here an eruption

can be see on

its surface.'

How big is Jupiter?

Jupiter is very big. Even though Jupiter is largely gas, it weighs 320 times as much as the Earth and is 139,822 kilometres in diameter.

What is Jupiter made of?

Unlike the rocky inner planets, the gas giants are made largely of gas. Jupiter is made mostly of hydrogen and helium. Internal pressures are so great that most of the hydrogen is turned to metal.

'Two of Jupiter's moons

Io and Europa

can be seen in orbit.

They are both close to

the size of Earth's

Moon.'

Could we land on Jupiter?

No, Even if our spaceship could withstand the enormous pressures, there is no surface to land on the atmosphere merges unnoticeably into deep oceans of liquid hydrogen.

How fast does Jupiter spin?

Jupiter spins faster than any other planet. Despite its huge size, it turns right around in just 9 hours 55 minutes, which means the surface is moving at 45,000 kilometres an hour.

Saturn

The gas giant Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. It takes Saturn 10,759 days to orbit the Sun. The planet is composed mainly of hydrogen and a little helium. It is best known for its ring system, which can be seen from Earth with a good pair of binoculars.

How heavy is Saturn?

Saturn may be big, but because it is made largely of hydrogen, it is also remarkably light, witha mass of 600 billion trillion tonnes. If you could find a big enough bath to put it in, it would float.

'Saturn is nine times

bigger than

the Earth, with

a diameter of

116464 km.'

How windy is Saturn?

Saturn's winds are even faster than Jupiter's and roar round the planet at up to 1800 kilometers an hour. But Neptune's are even faster, at 2100 kilometres an hour.

How many moons does Saturn have?

Saturn has 53 moons and 9 provisional moons, including Lapetus, which is dark on one side and light on the other.

'Saturn's moon

Enceladus

is composed of

ice and rock'

Why are astronomers excited about Titan?

Saturn's moon Titan is very special because it is the only moon in the Solar System with a dense atmosphere, which is vital for supporting life.

What are Saturn's rings?

Saturn's rings are the planet's shining halo, first seen by Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who invented a simple telescope in 1609. The rings are incredibly thin no more than 50 metres deep yet they stretch 282,000 km into space.

'The Saturn's rings are made

of billions of chips of

ice and dust.'

What is the Cassini division?

Saturn's rings occur in broad bands, referred to by the letters A to G. In 1675, the astronomer Cassini spotted a dark gap between rings A and B. This is now called the Cassini division, after him.

'Ring System of Saturn

Some scientists think

that the rings are

the remains of

a moon that

was hit by

a comet.'

✒️. Collected by: Uttar Tamang