Jupiter Information
Named after Jove, chief god of Roman mythology, Jupiter is the 5th planet from the Sun and the largest. After the Sun, Moon, & Venus, it is the brightest object in the sky, often mistaken as a star. It is more than 3 times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star.
Galileo was the 1st astronomer to view Jupiter through a telescope. He observed 4 satellites orbiting the planet, which supported to the Copernican theory that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. Galileo's discovery was a major step forward for astronomy.
With its numerous moons and several rings, the Jupiter system is a "mini-solar system." Many smaller moons have been discovered recently, but are as yet unnamed. Known named moons include: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Thebe, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia, Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, and Sinope.
This Image of "Jupiter" is a true-color simulated view of Jupiter, composed of 4 images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on December 7, 2000. To illustrate what Jupiter would have looked like if the cameras had a field-of-view large enough to capture the entire planet, the cylindrical map was projected onto a globe. Jupiter's moon Europa is casting the shadow on the planet.
Cassini is a cooperative mission of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.
From the giant, Jupiter, our mission continues out to that ringed wonder, Saturn.
-
Also, check out our Full Detail Solar System Tour