05 · gas giant

Jupiter

A hydrogen ocean with no surface. Bands shear against each other; the Great Red Spot has been a storm for centuries.

Distance from Sol

778 m km

Surface gravity

24.8 m/s²

Day length

9.9 hrs

Mean temperature

−110 °C

Orbital period

11.9 yrs

Atmosphere

90% hydrogen, 10% helium, traces of methane, ammonia, water. No solid ground. Cloud decks stacked by temperature: ammonia ice, ammonium hydrosulphide, water.

Notes

The Great Red Spot is an anticyclone wider than Earth. It has been observed since at least 1831. Differential rotation shears the belts: the equator laps the poles by about five minutes per turn.

Illustrative scale · orbital distances compressed. Not an ephemeris.