Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet within the Solar System, a gas giant with more than two and a half times the combined mass of the other planets in its system. Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and supports a system of 121 moons.

Geography

Jupiter is primarily composed of gas and liquid, with a volume 1,321 times that of Earth. Despite its incredible mass, its average density is lower than that of the four terrestrial planets. Jupiter's atmosphere is about 76% hydrogen and 24% helium, with trace amounts of a few other gases. This atmosphere gradually transitions to a thick layer of liquid metallic hydrogen, before reaching a solid core of ice & rock.
The planet has 318 times the mass of Earth, 2.5 times that of the other planets in its system combined. Jupiter is thought to have about as large a diameter as a planet like it could achieve. Jupiter's diameter is larger than that of even some stars.

Climate

Jupiter's atmosphere extends 2,000 miles beneath the cloud layers, which mostly consist of ammonia crystals. This cloud layer features intense heterogeneity in the form of bands, divided into light zones and dark belts. These regions clash, conflict, forming incredible storms and turbulence. This cloud layer is just over 30 miles deep, with two laters of ammonia clouds separated by a thin layer of water clouds, giving rise to bolts of lightning up to a thousands times more powerful than the ones on Earth. Another kind of lightning known as "elves" or "sprites" can be observed in the upper atmosphere, appearing as bright blue or pink flashes of light lasting just over a millisecond. The deep oranges and browns of Jupiter are causes by upwelling bodies of phosphorous, sulfur, and some hydrocarbons that change hue due to UV exposure. This is what largely sets the planet's appearance apart from Saturn's, both being almost completely made of hydrogen and helium.
The most notable portion of the atmosphere is undoubtedly the Great Red Spot, an eternal anticyclonic storm south of Jupiter's equator. It has possibly been observed to be in existence since 1665. This Great Red Spot is larger than the entire Earth, and is a permanent feature of the planet that stretches to an altitude of 5 miles above its neighboring clouds. Wind speeds in this storm exceed 400 miles per hour, and the entire storm can be seen from Earth with a telescope.

History

Observations of Jupiter occurred as early as Mesopotamia's early history. Exploration began in 1973 with the space probe Pioneer 10, passing by close enough to relay revelatory information. The first manned mission to be put in orbit around Jupiter happened on May 13th, 2018, with the Zeus 3 mission. The spacecraft took off from a base on Mars, and even involved entering the upper layers of Jupiter's atmosphere for testing. These tests confirmed the presence of water in Jupiter's atmosphere, which causes its incredible lightning. The Zeus 2 mission was slated to complete the same orbital path 5 years earlier, but to the misfortune of the 8 astronauts onboard the Zephyr, the spacecraft couldn't create enough lift to keep them in a stable orbit so close to the planet. Zeus 2 would eventually fall into the lower layers of the atmosphere before being crushed by the planet's enormous pressure, on August 30th, 2013.
In the decades following Zeus 3, essentially all Jupiter-related exploration is devoted to its moons: primarily the Galilean moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto).

Designations

Classification	Planet
Type	Gas giant
Alternative names	Sol V
Adjective	Jovian

Location Data

Star	Sun
Moons	Io Europa Ganymede Callisto 117 others
Star system	Solar System
Spiral Arm	Orion Arm
Galaxy	Milky Way

Orbit & Rotation

Rotation period	9.9258 hours 9h 55m 33s
Orbital period	11.862 standard years 4,332.59 standard days

Atmosphere

Composition by volume

89% hydrogen 10% helium 1% trace gases