planet
Jupiter
Two and a half times the mass of every other planet combined. The Great Red Spot is a storm wider than Earth that has been under continuous observation for at least 190 years.
Position
Computed on . For a continuously updating figure, open the live simulation.
When to look
Jupiter is best placed at opposition, when Earth passes between it and the Sun. It then rises at sunset, stands highest at midnight, and is at its closest and brightest.
| Date (UTC) | Event | Distance from Earth |
|---|---|---|
| opposition | 4.36 AU | |
| opposition | 4.44 AU | |
| opposition | 4.45 AU | |
| opposition | 4.39 AU |
About Jupiter
Jupiter is massive enough that the barycentre it shares with the Sun lies just outside the solar surface — strictly, the Sun orbits a point in space rather than Jupiter orbiting the Sun. It turns once in under ten hours despite its size, fast enough to visibly flatten the disc. The four Galilean moons are bright enough for binoculars and were the first objects ever seen orbiting something other than Earth.
Physical data
- Diameter
- 142,984 km
- Mass
- 317.8 earths
- Surface gravity
- 24.8 m/s2
- Rotation
- 9h 56m
- Year
- 11.86 y
- Axial tilt
- 3.1 deg
- Cloud tops
- -108 C
- Moons
- 95 known
Positions from VSOP87, accurate to within one arcminute. Physical constants are published values and are not computed here.