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.

Earth-like life could exist in the clouds of Jupiter, but Venus’s atmosphere is too toxic, study suggests © Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (Japan); image processed by Melina Thévenot

Earth-like life could exist in the clouds of Jupiter, but Venus’s atmosphere is too toxic

Powerful winds detected raging in Jupiter’s stratosphere © ESO/L Calçada & NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/PA

Powerful winds detected raging in Jupiter’s stratosphere

Hubble's greatest discoveries: how planetary collisions work © Getty Images

How planetary collisions work

Ganymedem Jupiter’s moon shows signs of past tectonic activity © NASA

Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon, shows signs of past tectonic activity

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

© Beate Behnke (Germany)

Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017

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

New close-up of Jupiter’s south pole. The oval features are cyclones © NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Betsy Asher Hall/Gervasio Robles

First Juno results already challenge our understanding of Jupiter

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?