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Post by momof6 on Dec 2, 2004 18:36:09 GMT -5
The planet Jupiter.
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 11:49:36 GMT -5
Jupiter By Sharon Fabian
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 When I put on my shoes to take a walk, I know that I'll be walking on the nice solid surface of planet Earth. When I look up and see clouds and blue sky, I know that they make up the atmosphere that surrounds Earth. At night, I can see our one moon in the sky. I can't see the ocean from here, but I know that if I take a drive to the beach, it will be there. This is what makes up a planet -- a good solid surface under my feet, bodies of water, atmosphere up there in the sky, and one moon in orbit. 2 At least that is what I thought a planet was, back when the only planet I knew about was Earth. But soon I learned that there were other planets out there. 3 People on Earth have known that there were other planets visible in the sky since ancient times. Since Earth was the only planet they had seen up close, they probably imagined that the other ones were similar to Earth too. As astronomers learned more about Mercury, Venus, and Mars, the three planets closest to Earth, they found out that there were differences as well as similarities. 4 In the 1600's, when Galileo used his telescope to look up at the next planet, Jupiter, he began to notice that Jupiter was very different from the four planets closest to the sun. Jupiter had four moons! This seemed like such a fantastic discovery that many people didn't believe Galileo. Some other astronomers refused to take him seriously. Now we know that the four moons discovered by Galileo -- Europa, Callisto, Ganymede, and Io -- were just the beginning. 5 In the centuries after Galileo's discoveries, astronomers developed better and better telescopes. With each improvement, they were able to see Jupiter in better detail. These early astronomers discovered Jupiter's great red spot, a storm as big as two Earths that has been going on for hundreds of years. They were also able to measure Jupiter's diameter and figure out its mass. Jupiter's diameter at its equator is about 143,000 kilometers. Its mass is about 318 times the mass of earth. 6 Once scientists knew the size and mass of Jupiter they could calculate its density. This is when Jupiter began to get even more interesting. Its density is extremely low, so low in fact that Jupiter is not a solid planet at all. Jupiter does not have a surface in the way that a planet like Earth does. Jupiter's surface consists of gas, much like its atmosphere, only more compacted. 7 Even better telescopes eventually revealed details about Jupiter's strange surface. They showed bands and streaks of colors produced by the chemicals that make up Jupiter. They also showed that Jupiter does not even rotate evenly like a solid planet does. Parts of Jupiter turn faster than other parts, more evidence that Jupiter is not a solid object. 8 In the 1930's, an astronomer named Rupert Wildt discovered that Jupiter is made up mainly of hydrogen and helium. Its composition is something like the composition of a star! 9 In this century we've also learned more interesting facts about Jupiter from explorations using spacecrafts. The Voyager spacecrafts in particular added interesting facts to our knowledge of Jupiter. The Voyager spacecrafts discovered Jupiter's 14th through 16th moons. They discovered that Jupiter does have rings, made up of dust from Jupiter's many moons. It discovered lightning in Jupiter's atmosphere, and volcanoes on its moon Io. 10 A later orbiter, named Galileo after the astronomer who discovered Jupiter's first four moons, took a closer look at all of its known moons. It also sent a space probe 150 kilometers into Jupiter's atmosphere to get a first look inside the cloud cover. It seems that there will always be more to discover about Jupiter. The more we find out about this huge and unusual planet, the more questions we can ask.
Copyright © 2004 edHelper --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name _____________________________ Date ___________________ Jupiter
1. Jupiter is the _____ planet from the sun. Fifth Third Seventh Fourth 2. From the article, you can tell that Jupiter was first discovered _____. In the 1930's In the 1600's or earlier In 1600 BC After 1700 3. _____ discovered the first four of Jupiter's moons. Galileo, the astronomer Galileo, the spacecraft Voyager Wildt 4. Io is a _____. Planet Spacecraft Sun Moon 5. Jupiter's surface is _____. Very rocky All water Very different from Earth's Similar to Earth's 6. A telescope is used to _____. Travel in space Take photographs in space Make far away things appear closer Look at things too small to see with the eye 7. Planets _______ are discussed in this article, but the article is mainly about _____. Jupiter and Earth, Jupiter Jupiter and Io, Io Callisto and Ganymede, Callisto Jupiter and Mars, Mars 8. Explain one way that Jupiter is like a planet, and one way that it is like a star.
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Jupiter - Answer Key
1 Fifth 2 In the 1600's or earlier 3 Galileo, the astronomer 4 Moon 5 Very different from Earth's 6 Make far away things appear closer 7 Jupiter and Earth, Jupiter 8 Possible answer: It orbits the sun. It consists mainly of hydrogen and helium.
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 11:51:06 GMT -5
Name _____________________________ Date ___________________
Jupiter Word Search
Find each of the following words.
HYDROGEN IO JUPITER HIGH VELOCITY WINDS GREAT RED SPOT HELIUM CALLISTO FOUR LARGE MOONS EUROPA 11.9 YEARS REVOLUTION LARGEST PLANET MANY MOONS STRONG MAGNETIC FIELD 9.8 HOURS ROTATION THINK ATMOSPHERE NO SEASONS FAINT RINGS GAS GIANT GANYMEDE FIFTH PLANET MAGNETIC FIELD
A H C M T U M N S T O N T F F I F T H P L A N E T . A 1 1 . 9 Y E A R S R E V O L U T I O N O N Y 9 F G T R N S E A G H A H I G H V E L O C I T Y W I N D S U C E A E A O T F O U R L A R G E M O O N S G M N N H E A R L R O S T R O N G M A G N E T I C F I E L D O R D T L D T H I N K A T M O S P H E R E E U R O P A M O F E Y L M F E A G R E A T R E D S P O T O C O M E M H A A I O U E I E I L F F A I N T R I N G S O N Y N O I O S R I C J U P I T E R G A S G I A N T E I Y D N O M I P T J L N H S E S E N O S E A S O N S O R N I A H L A M O N E R L A R G E S T P L A N E T I A M G U L T 9 . 8 H O U R S R O T A T I O N V F W M A G S R P R R G O G A S P T 8 A F A L A O V O E C N F
Answer Key HYDROGEN IO JUPITER HIGH VELOCITY WINDS GREAT RED SPOT HELIUM CALLISTO FOUR LARGE MOONS EUROPA 11.9 YEARS REVOLUTION LARGEST PLANET MANY MOONS STRONG MAGNETIC FIELD 9.8 HOURS ROTATION THINK ATMOSPHERE NO SEASONS FAINT RINGS GAS GIANT GANYMEDE FIFTH PLANET MAGNETIC FIELD
N F I F T H P L A N E T 1 1 . 9 Y E A R S R E V O L U T I O N G H I G H V E L O C I T Y W I N D S C O F O U R L A R G E M O O N S N E A R S T R O N G M A G N E T I C F I E L D O D L D T H I N K A T M O S P H E R E E U R O P A O E Y L M G R E A T R E D S P O T M M H I U F A I N T R I N G S Y O S I J U P I T E R G A S G I A N T Y N I T L N O S E A S O N S N A O E L A R G E S T P L A N E T A G 9 . 8 H O U R S R O T A T I O N M
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 11:55:11 GMT -5
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 11:57:48 GMT -5
JUPITER General Description Atmosphere and Planetary Composition Great Red Spot Belts and Zones Jupiter's Rings Jupiter's Moons Statistics Activities, Web Links
Jupiter is the fifth and largest planet in our solar system. This gas giant has a thick atmosphere, 39 known moons, and a dark, barely-visible ring. Its most prominent features are bands across its latitudes and a great red spot (which is a storm).
Jupiter is composed mostly of gas. This enormous planet radiates twice as much heat as it absorbs from the Sun. It also has an extremely strong magnetic field. It is slightly flattened at its poles and it bulges out a bit at the equator.
SIZE Jupiter's diameter is 88,700 miles (142,800 km). This is a little more than 11 times the diameter of the Earth. Jupiter is so big that all the other planets in our Solar System could fit inside Jupiter (if it were hollow).
MASS AND GRAVITY Jupiter's mass is about 1.9 x 1027 kg. Although this is 318 times the mass of the Earth, the gravity on Jupiter is only 254% of the gravity on Earth. This is because Jupiter is such a large planet (and the gravitational force a planet exerts upon an object at the planet's surface is proportional to its mass and to the inverse of its radius squared).
A 100-pound person would weigh 254 pounds on Jupiter.
LENGTH OF A DAY AND YEAR ON JUPITER It takes Jupiter 9.8 Earth hours to revolve around its axis (this is a Jovian day). It takes 11.86 Earth years for Jupiter to orbit the sun once (this is a Jovian year).
Jupiter is made up of gases and liquids, so as it rotates, its parts do not rotate at exactly the same velocity. It rotates very rapidly, and this spinning action gives Jupiter a large equatorial bulge; it looks like a slightly-flattened sphere (it is oblate)
JUPITER'S ORBIT Jupiter is 5.2 times farther from than the Sun than the Earth. On average, it is 480,000,000 miles (778,330,000 km) from the sun.
At aphelion (the place in its orbit where Jupiter is farthest from the Sun), Jupiter is 815,700,000 km from the Sun. At perihelion (the place in its orbit where Jupiter is closest to the Sun), Jupiter is 749,900,000 km from the Sun. Jupiter has no seasons. Seasons are caused by a tilted axis, and Jupiter's axis is only tilted 3 degrees (not enough to cause seasons).
JUPITER'S MOONS Jupiter has four large moons and dozens of smaller ones (there are 39 moons known so far). More moons are being found all the time.
Galileo first discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter, Io (which is volcanically active), Europa, Ganymede (the largest of Jupiter's moons, pictured at the left), and Callisto in 1610; these moons are known as the Galilean moons. Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System.
For more information on Jupiter's moons, click here.
RINGS Jupiter has faint, dark rings composed of tiny rock fragments and dust. These rings were discovered by NASA's Voyager 1 in 1980. The rings were investigated further when Voyager 2 flew by Jupiter. The rings have an albedo of 0.05; they do not reflect very much of the sunlight that they receive.
For more information on Jupiter's rings, click here.
TEMPERATURE RANGE The cloud-tops average 120 K = -153°C = -244°F.
DISCOVERY OF JUPITER Jupiter has been well-known since ancient times. It is the third-brightest object in the night sky (after the moon and Venus).
COMET SL9 HITS JUPITER
An SL-9 impact site on Jupiter, July 6, 1994. Photo by Hubble Space Telescope. Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL-9) was a short-period comet that was discovered by Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker and David H. Levy. As the comet passed close by Jupiter, Jupiter's gravitational forces broke the comet apart . Fragments of the comet collided with Jupiter for six days during July, 1994, causing huge fireballs in Jupiter's atmosphere that were visible from Earth.
SPACECRAFT VISITS Jupiter was first visited by NASA's Pioneer 10, which flew by Jupiter in 1973. Later fly-by visits included: Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Ulysses, and Galileo.
JUPITER'S NAME AND SYMBOL
This is the symbol of the planet Jupiter. Jupiter was named after the Roman primary god, Jupiter.
All of the pictures and symbols can be found at the above link
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 11:59:50 GMT -5
Zoom Astronomy - Print-out for Grade 3-5 Find it! in Zoom Astronomy
Use the section on the Jupiter to answer the following questions.
1. Is Jupiter composed mostly of solids or gases?_________________
2. Jupiter is about 11-times, 111-times or 1,111-times bigger than the Earth. _____________
3. How many moons orbit Jupiter?_______________________
4. Who discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter in the 1600's?_______________________
5. What is the major component of Jupiter's atmosphere? _________________
6. How long is a Jovian day (a day on Jupiter)? _______________________
7. How long is a Jovian year?_______________________
8. Is Jupiter's Great Red Spot a deposit of iron-rich soil, a storm, or a huge crater? _______________________
9. Does Jupiter have any rings? ______________________
10. Can you ever see Jupiter from Earth without using a telescope? ________________
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 12:02:43 GMT -5
Jupiter: Cloze Activity Fill in the blanks below.
Word Bank:
red gas Jovian 1610 Galilean System largest poles 254 Sun moon fifth gravity axis field
Jupiter is the ________________________ planet from the Sun and the ________________________ planet in our Solar System. It is a gas giant planet that has a thick atmosphere, dozens of moons, and a dark, barely-visible ring. Jupiter's most prominent features are bands across its latitudes and a great ________________________ spot (which is a huge storm). Jupiter was named after the Roman primary god, Jupiter. Jupiter is composed mostly of ________________________. This enormous planet radiates twice as much heat as it absorbs from the ________________________. It also has an extremely strong magnetic ________________________. The planet is slightly flattened at its ________________________ and it bulges out a bit at the equator.
It takes Jupiter 9.8 Earth hours to revolve around its ________________________ (this is a Jovian day). It takes 11.86 Earth years for Jupiter to orbit the Sun once (this is a ________________________ year).
Jupiter's diameter is 88,700 miles (142,800 km). This is a little more than 11 times the diameter of the Earth. Jupiter is so big that all the other planets in our Solar ________________________ could fit inside Jupiter (if it were hollow).
Jupiter's mass is about 318 times the mass of the Earth, but the ________________________ on Jupiter is only about 2.54 times of the gravity on Earth. This is because Jupiter is such a large planet (and the gravitational force a planet exerts upon an object at the planet's surface is proportional to its mass and to the inverse of its radius squared). A 100-pound person would weigh ________________________ pounds on Jupiter.
In ________________________, Galileo first discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter, Io (which is volcanically active), Europa, Ganymede (the largest of Jupiter's moons), and Callisto; these moons are known as the ________________________ moons. Ganymede is the largest ________________________ in the Solar System.
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 12:05:11 GMT -5
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet in our Solar System. It is a gas giant planet that has a thick atmosphere, dozens of moons, and a dark, barely-visible ring. Jupiter's most prominent features are bands across its latitudes and a great red spot (which is a huge storm). Jupiter was named after the Roman primary god, Jupiter. Jupiter is composed mostly of gas. This enormous planet radiates twice as much heat as it absorbs from the Sun. It also has an extremely strong magnetic field. The planet is slightly flattened at its poles and it bulges out a bit at the equator.
It takes Jupiter 9.8 Earth hours to revolve around its axis (this is a Jovian day). It takes 11.86 Earth years for Jupiter to orbit the Sun once (this is a Jovian year).
Jupiter's diameter is 88,700 miles (142,800 km). This is a little more than 11 times the diameter of the Earth. Jupiter is so big that all the other planets in our Solar System could fit inside Jupiter (if it were hollow).
Jupiter's mass is about 318 times the mass of the Earth, but the gravity on Jupiter is only about 2.54 times of the gravity on Earth. This is because Jupiter is such a large planet (and the gravitational force a planet exerts upon an object at the planet's surface is proportional to its mass and to the inverse of its radius squared). A 100-pound person would weigh 254 pounds on Jupiter.
In 1610, Galileo first discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter, Io (which is volcanically active), Europa, Ganymede (the largest of Jupiter's moons), and Callisto; these moons are known as the Galilean moons. Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System.
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 12:07:51 GMT -5
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 12:09:36 GMT -5
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 12:11:44 GMT -5
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 12:12:34 GMT -5
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 12:16:16 GMT -5
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 12:20:15 GMT -5
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Post by momof6 on Feb 7, 2005 12:24:14 GMT -5
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