That's why astronauts can bounce around on its surface. Nothing is anything compared to the Sun. On the left, the edge of the Sun, the star at the center of our solar system. And then note the tiny Earth, third planet from the Sun. Our Sun isn't nearly as large as stars can get, though. It's a medium-sized star, classified as a yellow dwarf. For example, supergiant stars such as Betelgeuse which you can see in the constellation Orion can be a thousand times bigger than our Sun.
There are some really huge things out there. Further reading: John Brady's story at Astronomy Central has eight awesome size comparisons like these, including some notable appearances by Saturn, the Sun, and a surprisingly small neutron star. And if you want to feel really small: this is the most detailed map yet of our place in the universe and the story of how scientists found it. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding.
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By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. This is what North America would look like on Jupiter. Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. USA on the moon boredboarder8 via reddit Meanwhile, Reddit user boredboarder8 created this overlay of the continental US on the moon. Next Up In Xpress. In addition to its satellites, Jupiter also has a thin ring system that was first seen by the Voyager I spacecraft.
Drew Lichtenstein started writing in His articles have appeared in the collegiate newspaper "The Red and Black. What Are the Elements of Uranus? Most Common Elements in the Solar System. Example of a White Dwarf Star. Characteristics of a Dwarf Planet. Three Major Characteristics of the Inner Planets. What is Earth's Position in the Solar System? The findings also indicate these storms are far taller than expected, with some extending 60 miles kilometers below the cloud tops and others, including the Great Red Spot, extending over miles kilometers.
This surprising discovery demonstrates that the vortices cover regions beyond those where water condenses and clouds form, below the depth where sunlight warms the atmosphere. With their gravity data, the Juno team was able to constrain the extent of the Great Red Spot to a depth of about miles kilometers below the cloud tops. Belts and Zones In addition to cyclones and anticyclones, Jupiter is known for its distinctive belts and zones — white and reddish bands of clouds that wrap around the planet.
Strong east-west winds moving in opposite directions separate the bands. Juno previously discovered that these winds, or jet streams, reach depths of about 2, miles roughly 3, kilometers. Researchers are still trying to solve the mystery of how the jet streams form. But at deeper levels, below the water clouds, the opposite is true — which reveals a similarity to our oceans.
Over time, mission scientists determined these atmospheric phenomena are extremely resilient, remaining in the same location. Juno data also indicates that, like hurricanes on Earth, these cyclones want to move poleward, but cyclones located at the center of each pole push them back.
This balance explains where the cyclones reside and the different numbers at each pole. The Jovian magnetosphere is the region of space influenced by Jupiter's powerful magnetic field. It balloons , to 2 million miles 1 to 3 million kilometers toward the Sun seven to 21 times the diameter of Jupiter itself and tapers into a tadpole-shaped tail extending more than million miles 1 billion kilometers behind Jupiter, as far as Saturn's orbit.
Jupiter's enormous magnetic field is 16 to 54 times as powerful as that of the Earth. It rotates with the planet and sweeps up particles that have an electric charge. Near the planet, the magnetic field traps swarms of charged particles and accelerates them to very high energies, creating intense radiation that bombards the innermost moons and can damage spacecraft. Jupiter's magnetic field also causes some of the solar system's most spectacular aurorae at the planet's poles.
Introduction Jupiter is the fifth planet from our Sun and is, by far, the largest planet in the solar system — more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined. A 3D model of Jupiter, a gas giant planet. Mocha Swirls in Jupiter's Turbulent Atmosphere.
This page showcases our resources for those interested in learning more about Jupiter. Jupiter Resources. JPL's lucky peanuts are an unofficial tradition at big mission events. Full Moon Guide: October - November A new paper details how the hydrological cycle of the now-dry lake at Jezero Crater is more complicated than originally thought.
Winds in the outermost "lane" of Jupiter's Great Red Spot are accelerating — a discovery made possible by Hubble. Researchers will use Webb to observe 17 actively forming planetary systems. This year, the minimum extent of Arctic sea ice dropped to 1. The lander cleared enough dust from one solar panel to keep its seismometer on through the summer, allowing scientists to study three big quakes. Scientists found evidence that an area on Mars called Arabia Terra had thousands of "super eruptions" over a million-year period.
Full Moon Guide: September - October
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