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Jupiter, in astronomy

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(jō'pӘtӘr), in astronomy, 5th planet from the sun and largest planet of the solar system. Jupiter's orbit lies beyond the asteroid belt at a mean distance of 483.6 million mi (778.3 million km) from the sun; its period of revolution is 11.86 years. In order from the sun it is the first of the Jovian planets—Jupiter, Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune —very large, massive planets of relatively low density, having rapid rotation and a thick, opaque atmosphere. Jupiter has a diameter of 88,815 mi (142,984 km), more than 11 times that of the earth. Its mass is 318 times that of the earth and about 2 1/2 times the mass of all other planets combined. The atmosphere of Jupiter is composed mainly of hydrogen, helium, methane, and ammonia. However, the concentration of nitrogen, carbon, sulfur, argon, xenon, and krypton—as measured by an instrument package dropped by the space probe Galileo during its 1995 flyby of the planet—is more than twice what was expected, raising questions about the accepted…
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Full text Article Jupiter

From Astronomy Encyclopedia
Jupiter A view of Jupiter, assembled from four...
Largest planet in the Solar System; it is 318 times as massive as the Earth and revolves about the Sun in an orbit with an average radius of 5.203AU. The orbital period is 11.86 years. At opposition, when Jupiter appears on the observer's meridian at midnight, it subtends a diameter of about 47″. …
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Full text Article Jupiter

From Philip's Encyclopedia
Fifth major planet from the Sun and the largest of the giant planets. It is one of the brightest objects in the sky. Through a telescope, Jupiter's yellowish elliptical disk is seen to be crossed by brownish-red bands, known as belts and zones. The most distinctive feature is the Great Red Spot…
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Full text Article Jupiter

From Encyclopedia of the History of Astronomy and Astrophysics Full text Article The solar system Full text Article Giant planets
This Voyager 2 image of Jupiter...
Galileo discovered the four large moons of Jupiter, now called Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, when he observed the planet for the first time with his telescope in January 1610. Further observations enabled him to conclude, early in the following year, that the periods of these four satellites…
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Full text Article Jupiter

From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
Also called jove , the supreme god of Roman mythology, corresponding to the Greek zeus , the son of saturn or kronus , the Titan, whom he dethroned, and Ops or rhea . He was the special protector of Rome, and as Jupiter Capitolinus (his temple being on the Capitoline Hill) presided over the Roman…
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Full text Article Jupiter

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System, with a mass equal to 70% of all the other planets combined and 318 times as large as that of the Earth. A prominent feature is the Great Red Spot, a cloud of rising gases, 14,000 km/8,500 mi wide and 30,000 km/20,000 mi long, revolving…
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Full text Article JUPITER

From Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
American writer Vibrant as an African trade-bead with bonechips in orbit round it, Jupiter floods the night's black scullery, all those whirlpools and burbling aerosols little changed since the solar-system began. The Planets: A Cosmic Pastoral Jupiter (p. 81 ) William Morrow & Company, Inc. New…
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From Encyclopedia of Ancient Rome
Supreme god of the Roman pantheon. Jupiter protected Rome and ruled heaven as the father of the gods. His introduction to Rome was traditionally attributed to the Etruscans, who gave the Romans Jupiter Optimus Maximus (the Best and Greatest). They also built the first temple of his cult, dominating…
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From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
The largest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun at a mean distance of 5.2 AU once every 11.86 years. It has an equatorial diameter of 142 994 km (11 times that of the Earth) and a polar diameter of 133 708 km. This oblateness results from a rotation period of less than 10 hours, shorter…
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Full text Article Jupiter

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun and...
Fifth planet from the Sun, the largest nonstellar object in the solar system . It has 318 times the mass and more than 1,400 times the volume of Earth. Its enormous mass gives it nearly 2.5 times the gravity of Earth (measured at the top of Jupiter’s atmosphere), and it exerts strong effects on…
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Full text Article Jupiter

From Science Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia of Space and Astronomy
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system...
The largest planet in our solar system, with more than twice the mass of all the other planets and their moons combined and a diameter of approximately 143,000 km. It is the fifth planet from the Sun and is separated from the four terrestrial planets by the main asteroid belt. The giant planet, …
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