Jupiter Facts for Kids

A Picture of the Planet Jupiter
  • Planet Name: Jupiter
  • Type of Planet: Gas Gaint
  • Solar System Region: Outer Solar System
  • Distance from the Sun: 460,000,000 miles (perihelion) to 508,000,000 miles (aphelion)
  • Time to Orbit Around the Sun: About 4,329 Earth days
  • Moons (natural satellites): 79
  • Total Surface Area: 23.7 billion square miles

27 Jupiter Facts for Kids

  1. The planet Jupiter formed about 4.5 billion years ago.
  2. The planet Jupiter was first observed via a telescope in 1610 by Galileo Galilei.
  3. The planet Jupiter is the fifth closest planet to the Sun.
  4. Jupiter is in the outer part of our Solar System.
  5. Jupiter is a gas giant planet.
  6. Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System.
  7. Jupiter is 1,120% the size of Earth.
  8. The radius of the planet Jupiter is 43,441 miles.
  9. Jupiter’s perihelion (closest) distance to the Sun is 460 million miles.
  10. Jupiter’s aphelion (farthest) distance to the Sun is 508 million miles.
  11. It takes Jupiter 4,329 Earth days to complete an orbit around the Sun.
  12. Jupiter has 79 known moons (natural satellites).
  13. Jupiter’s moon Callisto has the most craters than any other object in our Solar System.
  14. Jupiter’s moon Europa is one of the most likely locations in our Solar System that could potentially harbor life.
  15. Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is the largest moon and the ninth largest object in our Solar System.
  16. Jupiter’s moon Io is the densest moon in our Solar System.
  17. Jupiter’s moon Amalthea was the last moon to be discovered by direct visual observation.
  18. Jupiter’s moon Elara is the second largest moon in the Himalia group.
  19. The planet Jupiter has four rings. They are the halo, main, Amalthea gossamer and Thebe gossamer rings.
  20. Because Jupiter is a gas giant, it’s virtually impossible for life to evolve as we know it.
  21. Jupiter rotates so fast a full day is only about ten Earth hours long.
  22. One of Jupiter’s most observable features is the Great Red Spot.
  23. The Great Red Spot is an anticyclonic storm in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
  24. The Great Red Spot has been observable since 1830, but may have existed long before that.
  25. Jupiter was first visited by humans in December 1973, via the NASA Pioneer 10 spacecraft.
  26. Jupiter is so big you can see it without the aid of a telescope.
  27. In 1994, a comet named Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter, giving astronomers their first chance to witness a large impact event on a planet in our Solar System.

Additional Resources on the Planet Jupiter

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