Jupiter

A giant mass of predominantly hydrogen and helium, Jupiter dwarfs the other planets in our Solar System with a mass is 2.5 times larger than that of all of the other planets combined. NASA’s spacecraft Juno is on a mission at Jupiter to deepen our understanding of how such giant planets were formed. Recently 12 new moons have been spotted orbiting Jupiter bringing the total number of Jovian moons to 79, the first four of these moons were observed in 1610 by Galileo Galilei and have captivated our interest ever since.

Jupiter's southern hemisphere © NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

35 breathtaking pictures of Jupiter taken from the Juno spacecraft

How large was the telescope that first detected an exoplanet? © Getty Images

How large was the telescope that first detected an exoplanet?

What is the environmental impact of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch?

What is the environmental impact of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch?

Could Jupiter become a star? © NASA

Could Jupiter become a star?

Voyager 1: boldly going where no spacecraft has gone before © NASA/JPL-Caltech

Voyager 1: a brief history of the interstellar spacecraft

Enhanced colour image of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, a mega storm that’s been swirling since at least the 19th Century © NASA/JPL

So long Juno, and thanks for all the pics

Why is Jupiter stripy? © Getty Images

Why is Jupiter stripy?

Does Jupiter really protect us from cosmic impacts? © Getty Images

Does Jupiter really protect us from cosmic impacts?

Did a ‘wrecking ball’ Jupiter smash up our early Solar System? © Getty Images

Did a ‘wrecking ball’ Jupiter smash up our early Solar System?

What is at the centre of a gas giant planet like Jupiter? © Getty Images

What is at the centre of a gas giant planet like Jupiter?

Is Jupiter getting bigger? © Getty Images

Is Jupiter getting bigger?

Jupiter emissions sound like the stuff of nightmares © NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM

Jupiter emissions sound like the stuff of nightmares

Composite image of suspected water vapour plumes erupting at the seven o’clock position off the limb of Jupiter’s moon Europa © NASA, ESA, W. Sparks (STScI), and the USGS Astrogeology Science Center

Water plumes from Europa raise hopes of finding microbial life

Why doesn’t Europa have any impact craters?

Why doesn’t Europa have any impact craters?