How big is Jupiter, how many moons does it have and how far away is the planet from Earth?
The gas giant is the biggest body apart from the Sun in our solar system and is clearly visible in the night sky to stargazers
JUPITER is the largest planet in the solar system and named after the Roman King of the Gods.
Here's the lowdown on the enormous celestial body.
How far away is Jupiter from Earth?
At the closest point in their respective orbits, Jupiter and Earth are around 365 million miles apart.
But because neither planet spins around the sun in a perfect circle, nor at the same speed, this number fluctuates dramatically.
When they are furthest apart the planets are 601 miles apart, more than two thirds farther away than they are at their nearest.
As it is further away Jupiter takes 11.86 Earth-years to complete one orbit of the sun.
While we travel around our star we catch up with the gas Giant once every 399 days, causing the gas giant to appear to travel backwards in the night sky.
How many moons does Jupiter have?
Jupiter has a vast number of natural satellites with latest figure putting the number of moons orbiting the gas giant at 79.
The most well-known of the planets moons are Io (pronounced eye-oh), Europa, and Callisto.
Jupiter also has the biggest moon in our solar system, Ganymede.
These four moons are so big they can be seen from Earth with just a pair of binoculars.
How big is it compared to Earth?
Jupiter has a diameter of about 88,695 miles which is more than 11 times the diameter of Earth.
Earth could fit inside Jupiter over 1,300 times.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System and is so massive that it weighs two and a half times the weight of all of the other eight planets put together.
Is the planet made up of gas?
Jupiter is mainly composed of hydrogen and helium just like a star but doesn’t have enough mass to ignite fusion and turn into a star.
In addition to hydrogen and helium the planet is made of water, methane and ammonia with a core thought to contain some rock and metallic hydrogen.
Boffins believe that addition to the rocky/molten metallic hydrogen core, there is a layer of liquid hydrogen and helium and areas where the hydrogen is in a supercritical state, meaning that it does not have distinct gas and liquid phases.
Does Jupiter have an atmosphere?
Jupiter has the largest planetary atmosphere in our Solar System.
The atmosphere is made mainly of hydrogen and helium and lacks a clear lower boundary.
It contains a wide range of phenomena including cyclones and anti-cyclones.
The most famous of this is the famed Great Red Spot which is believed to be a storm that has raged on the planet for at least 350 years.
What is the Juno mission?
Juno is a NASA space probe built by Lockheed Martin and operated by that is orbiting Jupiter.
MOST READ IN SCIENCE AND TECH
The spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on August 5, 2011 as part of the New Frontiers program and entered a polar orbit of Jupiter on July 5, 2016 to begin a scientific investigation of the planet.
After completing its mission, Juno will be intentionally plunged into the planet’s atmosphere.
The mission takes its name from Jupiter’s wife, Juno, in Roman mythology.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.