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| EXPLORING THE JUPITER SYSTEM | |||||
| Jupiter | Moons | Oceans | Volcanos | Rings | Radio |
| JIMO | Galileo | Cassini | Pioneer | Voyager | Resources |
The largest planet in our Solar System:
Jupiter is Like a Mini Solar System
Jupiter is the fifth planet outward from the Sun and the largest planet in our Solar System. In fact, Jupiter has something like a whole planetary system of its own, with spectacular rings and the most moons of any planet.
Jupiter is the most massive planet in our Solar System and it has dozens of moons. In fact, with its numerous moons and rings, the Jupiter system resembles a miniature Solar System.
The planet itself is like a small star. If Jupiter had been only fifty or a hundred times more massive, it would have become a star rather than a planet.
Jupiter's rings surprised astronomers when they were discovered by the Voyager-1 probe in 1979 and confirmed by Galileo in 1998. The planet's system of rings apparently relates to its many moons. Scientists wonder if the rings may have been formed by dust kicked up as interplanetary meteoroids smashed into the giant gas planet's four small inner moons.
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