Planet · Gas giant

Jupiter

Type: Gas giant
Diameter: 142,984 km
Distance from Sun: 778.6 M km
Surface gravity: 23.1 m/s²
Mean temp.: -110 °C
Moons: 79

NASA Goddard · NASA media (public domain)

Overview

Scientific overview

Jupiter is a gas giant in orbit around The Sun, at a mean distance of 778.6 million km from the Sun.

Physical characteristics

Mass: 1,898 ×10²⁴ kg
Diameter: 142,984 km
Radius: 71,492 km
Density: 1.326 g/cm³
Surface gravity: 23.1 m/s²
Escape velocity: 59.5 km/s
Rotation period: 9.9 h
Mean temperature: -110 °C

Scale

Compared to Earth

Earth

Jupiter

Jupiter is 11× Earth

142,984 km across · Earth is 12,742 km

Orbit

Distance from Sun: 778.6 million km (5.205 AU)
Orbital period: 11.86 years
Perihelion: 740.5 million km
Aphelion: 816.6 million km
Eccentricity: 0.049
Orbital inclination: 1.3°
Axial tilt: 3.1°
Orbital velocity: 13.1 km/s

Gallery

Jupiter Plume
1999
NASA/JPL · NASA media (public domain)
Source archive ↗

Observation

How this was captured

Observatory / instrument: Hubble Space Telescope
Mission: Hubble Space Telescope
Source: HUBBLE
Observation date: 2017-04-06

Moons (5)

Notable surface features

Great Red Spot

Exploration

Sources

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.
NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics
Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.

Quick facts

Type: Gas giant
System: The Sun
Moons: 79
Ring system: Yes

Provenance & sources

review 2026.1

Asteria Scientific Review Process · verification: sourced · accurate

High evidenceconfirmed
Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System, a gas giant more massive than all the other planets combined, with a long-lived storm (the Great Red Spot) and dozens of moons.
Source: NASA (NSSDCA) — NASA Planetary Fact Sheet · Public domain (US Government work)
- NASA Planetary Fact Sheet, Planetary Fact Sheet

Reviewed by the internal Asteria Scientific Review Process — not an external institutional review. See the evidence framework and authority dashboard.

Scientific citations

Real, source-backed references — primary papers first, then datasets and institutional sources. Formatted through the citation engine; nothing is fabricated.

DatasetApproximate Positions of the Planets

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech)

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech) (n.d.). Approximate Positions of the Planets. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech). https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/approx_pos.html

@misc{cite:jpl-approx-positions,
  title        = {Approximate Positions of the Planets},
  organization = {NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech)},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/approx_pos.html},
  note         = {Public-domain Keplerian orbital elements and rates (Standish) — the method behind the computed planet positions, rise/set, and visibility.}
}

DatasetJupiter Fact Sheet

NASA Goddard — NSSDCA

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

NASA Goddard — NSSDCA (n.d.). Jupiter Fact Sheet. NASA Goddard — NSSDCA. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/jupiterfact.html

@misc{cite:factsheet-planet-jupiter,
  title        = {Jupiter Fact Sheet},
  organization = {NASA Goddard — NSSDCA},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/jupiterfact.html},
  note         = {Physical and orbital parameters for Jupiter.}
}

Institutional pageJupiter — NASA Solar System Exploration

NASA

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

NASA (n.d.). Jupiter — NASA Solar System Exploration. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/

@misc{cite:nasa-planet-jupiter,
  title        = {Jupiter — NASA Solar System Exploration},
  organization = {NASA},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://science.nasa.gov/},
  note         = {NASA overview of Jupiter.}
}

Institutional pagePlanets — NASA Science

NASA

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

NASA (n.d.). Planets — NASA Science. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/planets/

@misc{cite:nasa-planets,
  title        = {Planets — NASA Science},
  organization = {NASA},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://science.nasa.gov/planets/},
  note         = {NASA overview of the planets: how the naked-eye planets appear and move through the sky.}
}

Quality & authority

Substantial

Reviewed

Description: None
Source coverage: Complete
Relationship coverage: Complete
Review coverage: Complete
Citation coverage: Complete
Image coverage: Complete

Data from the NASA Planetary Fact Sheet & JPL (public domain). See source quality.

Jupiter

Scientific overview

Physical characteristics

Compared to Earth

Orbit

Gallery

How this was captured

Moons (5)

Ganymede

Callisto

Io

Europa

Amalthea

Notable surface features

Exploration

Voyager 1

Voyager 2

Juno

Galileo

Sources