How does Jupiter compare to Earth?
Jupiter is wildly different from Earth. First off, there is no place to stand, the surface is gas. Second, Jupiter is 300 times the size of earth and has (at least) 63 moons vs. Earth’s one moon. Also, Jupiter has a storm that would swallow up the Earth without even noticing and has been storming for 300 years! I’m glad we don’t have any storms like that! How do we know about Jupiter? Being the 4th brightest object in the sky, we have known of Jupiter’s existence for thousands of years. Galileo first discovered Jupiter’s 4 largest moons in 1610 and others claim to have discovered the Great Red Spot not long after. In 1973 Pioneer 10 flew by Jupiter and provided the first close up pictures of the planet. The Pioneer probes were followed by Voyager 1 and 2 which gave us the first close up shots of Jupiter’s moons. Since then there have been many more fly-bys of Jupiter. The only spacecraft to orbit Jupiter was the Galileo in 1995. For more information on the Solar system: • The Solar Sys
