Fast Facts for Kids
Jupiter Facts for Kids

Jupiter Facts for Kids

  • Planet Name: Jupiter
  • Planet Type: Gas Giant
  • Region: Outer Solar System
  • Moons: 80
  • Rotation Period: 0.41354 (Earth days)
  • Sun Orbit Period: 11.862615 (Earth years)
  • Discovered: 1610 (First telescope observation)

14 Jupiter Facts For Kids

  1. The planet Jupiter was formed from a small part of a giant molecular cloud that had a gravitational collapse about 4.6 billion years ago.
  2. Jupiter was first observed as early as the 7th century BCE by Babylonian astronomers. The first observation of Jupiter using a telescope was in 1610 by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei.
  3. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant planet (failed star).
  4. Jupiter’s atmosphere contains approximately 89.8% hydrogen and 10.2% helium.
  5. Jupiter is the fifth farthest planet from the Sun at 483,638,564 miles or 5.2 astronomical units.
  6. Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System with a radius of 43,441 miles or 1,120% the size of Earth.
  7. Light from the Sun takes 43.2 minutes (2,595 seconds) to reach Jupiter.
  8. Jupiter completes an orbit around the Sun every 11.862615 Earth years.
  9. Jupiter completes a full planet rotation every 0.41354 Earth days.
  10. Jupiter is the fifth coldest planet in our Solar System with an average surface temperature of -166 °F.
  11. Jupiter has 80 discovered moons (natural satellites).
  12. Jupiter is one of the four planets in our Solar System with a ring system.
  13. The first spacecraft to explore and study Jupiter was NASA’s Pioneer 10 space probe, with its closest approach to Jupiter on December 3rd, 1973.
  14. The first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter was NASA’s Galileo space probe starting on December 7th, 1995 and remained in Jupiter’s orbit for seven years.

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Jupiter Pictures

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the below images will be helpful for your research on the planet Jupiter. Below are three various pictures of Jupiter. These pictures should help you better understand Jupiter, one of the eight planets in our Solar System.

Picture of Jupiter by Hubble Telescope

A picture of Jupiter by Hubble Telescope.

Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley)
Picture of Jupiter by Pioneer 11

A picture of Jupiter by Pioneer 11.

Credit: NASA Ames
Jupiter and Three Galilean Moons

A picture of Jupiter and Three Galilean Moons.

Credit: NASA/JPL

Planet Jupiter Resources

We hope you found the above Jupiter facts, information, data, and pictures both fun and educational. You can continue to research the planet Jupiter using one of the below additional resources. They were chosen for their credibility and accuracy; you can trust their information when it comes to Jupiter. Thank you for choosing Fast Facts for Kids.