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Jupiter 
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and is the fifth planet from the sun. Jupiter is made up of mostly gases, especially hydrogen gas. There are at least 63 moons that orbit Jupiter. The four largest moons are called Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa. A year on Jupiter is almost 12 Earth years. The days on Jupiter are about 10 Earth hours long. Jupiter spins faster than any other planet.
Jupiter has faint dust rings extending out to about 53,000 km above the atmosphere.
The surface of Jupiter is made up of red and yellow swirling clouds. The red and white spots in Jupiter's clouds are storms and the largest of these storms is called the Great Red Spot.
Jupiter has an extremely strong magnetic field.
The diameter of Jupiter is 88,700 miles which is more than 11 times that of Earth. Jupiter is the third brightest object in the night sky. Jupiter was named after the Roman God Jupiter.
In July of 1994, fragments of a Comet called Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter.
Jupiter was explored in flybys in the 1970s by NASA's Pioneer 10 and 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, and is currently being studied by the Jupiter orbiting Galileo spacecraft. Facts about Jupiter:
Distance from the Sun: 483 million miles
Diameter at the Equator: 88,695 miles
Time taken for 1 orbit: 11.9 years
Average Temperature: -244 degrees F.
Mass: 318 times Earth's mass Atmospheric components - 90% hydrogen, 10 % helium & .07 % methane
Related Information About Jupiter
Images of Jupiter
Information about Jupiter from Nasa
The Moons of Jupiter
Comet Shoemaker-Levy Collision with Jupiter -
From July 16 through July 22, 1994, pieces of an object designated as Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter.
Hubble Tracks Jupiter Storms
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