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The Planet Jupiter: Related Pages.Click here to visit the main page on, Jupiter.
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest within the solar system.
Jupiter's Winds Come From Inside Nov 10, 2005 - An international team of researchers have developed a new computer model that simulated Jupiter's incredible weather systems. Jupiter's weather is much different from the Earth's, as the strong winds continuously circle the planet, changing very little over time. The massive East-West winds in Jupiter's equatorial region can reach speeds of 550 kph (340 mph). The simulation predicts that the planet's hot interior powers these winds, and explains why they can stay so stable for centuries. New Jupiter Mission Moves Forward Jun 2, 2005 - NASA announced today that it's pressing forward with a new mission to Jupiter called Juno, which will launch no later than 2010. This will be the second of NASA's New Frontiers Programs (the New Horizons Pluto mission will be the first). The $700 million spacecraft will travel to Jupiter, and then orbit the giant planet searching for an ice-rock core, determine the amounts of water and ammonia present in its atmosphere and study its winds and magnetic field. Amalthea is Just a Pile of Icy Rubble Jun 1, 2005 - By studying data gathered by NASA's Galileo spacecraft, researchers have come to the conclusion that Amalthea, one of Jupiter's moons, is probably just a jumble of icy rubble, held together by gravity. Scientists originally believed it was made of rock, but Galileo helped to discover that its density is actually lower than water. It probably formed further out in the solar system, but was then captured into a stable orbit by Jupiter's immense gravity. Jupiter Reflects the Sun's X-Rays Mar 8, 2005 - Astronomers have used the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton telescope to watch X-rays coming from Jupiter. These X-rays are mostly reflected solar radiation, which is bounced back through Jupiter's atmosphere. Since Jupiter seems to brighten and dim during solar flares, solar astronomers can detect flares occurring on the far side of the Sun. Jupiter is a poor mirror for X-rays, though, typically only reflecting back less than 0.1% of the radiation that hits it. Jupiter's Auroras Helped by Io Mar 2, 2005 - Jupiter's massive magnetic field is so powerful, it can generate auroras one thousand times more powerful than we'll see here on Earth. One of the best ways to study Jupiter's aurora is in the X-ray spectrum, watching how particles and ions crash into Jupiter's atmosphere. Observations from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory suggest that these particles are partly coming from the Sun, but also from Io, Jupiter's volcanically active moon, which is known to be blasting out steady streams of particles. Jovian Moon Was Probably Captured Dec 24, 2004 - New observations of Jupiter's moon, Amalthea, reveal that it probably didn't form with the giant planet. The observations were made with the powerful Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, which found that Amalthea has unusual amounts of water-carrying minerals. These typically form in low temperature environments. Astronomers theorize that Jupiter's moons formed from several small objects merging together, and Amalthea could be an example of one of these building blocks that never had a chance to merge. Nov 4, 2004 - The Hubble Space Telescope took this rare picture of a triple eclipse on Jupiter, an event that only happens once or twice a decade. Io is near the middle, Ganymede on the planet's left edge, and Callisto is near the right edge. Astronomers tested a new technique with Hubble when taking this picture. They sped up Hubble's tracking system so that Jupiter passed through its field of view more quickly than normal. This allowed them to take rapid-fire snapshots of the planet and its moons to build into a single image that shows more detail than one single image. NASA Awards Jupiter Icy Moons Mission Sep 21, 2004 - NASA has chosen Northrop Grumman Space Technology to build its upcoming Prometheus Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) spacecraft, and awarded them a $400 million contract to cover costs up to 2008. JIMO will use a nuclear-powered ion engine to go into orbit around each of Jupiter's icy moons: Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa. Once in orbit, the spacecraft would be able to examine each of the moons in great detail with a suite of instruments to try and understand their composition, history, and if there could be conditions for life. Sep 15, 2004 - Jupiter's moon Io is peppered with volcanoes spewing gas and dust up to 400 km (284 miles) high. You'd think that this material would all settle down again onto the moon, but something very unusual is happening: it's being accelerated to a velocity second only to the Sun's solar wind. This new space hazard came as a complete surprise when it was first discovered pelting the NASA/ESA Ulysses spacecraft. The dust came in a tight stream, moving at 300 km per second (200 mps), and it was detected again when Galileo visited the Jovian system. It turns out that Jupiter's powerful magnetic field picks up the material from Io and accelerates it. Aug 16, 2004 - Scientists have used data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft to uncover strange rocky lumps underneath Ganymede's icy shell. One theory is that they're rock formations, lodged deep in the ice and held up for billions of years. The data was gathered by Galileo during its second flyby of the moon in 1996. This discovery challenges theories about the thickness and strength of Ganymede's ice - you would expect the rocks held up at the top, or resting at the bottom, but not somewhere in the middle. Galileo was crashed into Jupiter nearly a year ago. It Doesn't Get Much Hotter Than Io Jun 9, 2004 - When Galileo went past Jupiter's moon Io, it found parts of it reached temperatures as high as 1,610 degrees Celsius (2,910 Fahrenheit). The moon is so hot because it's continually being squeezed by Jupiter's immense gravity - the friction from the tidal interaction keeps it warm. Observations from Galileo and Earth-based telescopes have seen that the volcanoes are so hot they're vapourizing sodium, potassium, silicon and iron into the moon's atmosphere. More Information About Icy Moons Mission May 26, 2004 - NASA has released more detailed requirements for its upcoming mission to Jupiter's icy moons. The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter would travel to the Jovian system, and then spend time orbiting Callisto, Ganymede and Europa; each of which might have liquid oceans under their icy surfaces. The mission would be powered by a nuclear reactor, and use ion propulsion to get into and out of various orbits. The Request for Proposal has been delivered to Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, and they have until July 16, 2004 to deliver their conceptual designs. Are Jupiter's Spots Disappearing? Apr 21, 2004 - Jupiter's stormy surface could be settling down, according to calculations by UC Berkeley physicist Philip Marcus. According to Marcus, Jupiter's temperature and the number of storms on its surface are directly connected. As the number of vortices decrease, its temperature should go up by about 10-degrees Celsius - warmer near the equator and cooler near the poles. This cycle seems to repeat itself about every 70 years. But don't worry; the Great Red Spot isn't going anywhere. Does Io Look Like an Early Earth? Mar 22, 2004 - When they look at Io, one of Jupiter's moons, researchers think they could be seeing that the Earth might have looked like in its early history, before the development of plate tectonics - 200 to 500 million years after the planet formed. Volcanically active Io is being constantly pulled by Jupiter and another of its moons, Europa, so plate tectonics have never taken hold. On Earth, volcanic hotspots form at the edges of plates, but on Io they are circular. The Moon and Jupiter - Side By Side Mar 3, 2004 - Want an easy way to find Jupiter on Thursday and Friday? Just look for the Moon. On March 4th and 5th, the Moon and Jupiter will be side-by-side in the sky inside the constellation Leo. And right now, Jupiter is only 400 million kilometres away - that's close. If you have a small telescope, point it at Jupiter, and you should be able to see the planet's four larger moons, dusty bands across its surface, and maybe even the Great Red Spot. Ulysses Finds Streams of Dust Coming from Io Feb 20, 2004 - Jupiter's moon Io is depositing a trail of dust particles as it makes its journey around the Sun, and the European Space Agency's Ulysses spacecraft has detected them 500 million km away from the gas giant. The dust streams contain particles no larger than smoke, and they originate from Io's many volcanoes, which are constantly erupting across its surface. One unusual feature about the streams is that they have a period of 28 days, which suggests they somehow interact with the solar wind streaming from the Sun. New Cassini Image of Jupiter Released Nov 13, 2003 - The team responsible for the Cassini spacecraft's imaging system have produced the most detailed mosaic image of Jupiter ever created - the whole planet is visible down to a resolution of 60 km. The spacecraft took a series of 27 images over the course of an hour on December 29, 2000. The separate photos were then blended together on a computer to account for Jupiter's rotation and the movement of the spacecraft. Sep 21, 2003 - NASA's Galileo spacecraft was intentionally crashed into Jupiter on Sunday, ending 14 years of service to science and exploration. The spacecraft entered Jupiter's thick atmosphere and disintegrated at 1857 GMT (2:57pm EDT), but the last signals arrived at Earth nearly an hour later because of the great distance to Jupiter. At the end of its mission, Galileo lacked the fuel to escape the Jovian system so scientists decided to crash it into Jupiter to avoid contaminating any potential life on Europa, which is believed to have liquid water oceans under a thick sheet of ice. Galileo's Final Study of Jupiter Sep 17, 2003 - We're only days away until Galileo's final plunge into Jupiter on September 21. Nearly out of fuel, the spacecraft was put onto a collision course with Jupiter to prevent it from accidentally crashing into Europa and potentially contaminating it with Earth-based bacteria. The entry point on Jupiter will be 1/4 of a degree south of its equator and it will strike the planet at 174,000 km/h - obviously it'll be destroyed almost instantly. Scientists hope to retrieve every piece of data they can, but the radiation will intensify to immense levels as the spacecraft nears the planet, so it might not be possible. Galileo Will Plunge Into Jupiter on September 21 Sep 12, 2003 - Time is running out for NASA's Galileo spacecraft. After eight years of loyal service imaging Jupiter and its moons, NASA controllers have aimed it at the gas giant. On September 21, 2003, Galileo will crash into Jupiter and be destroyed; this will prevent any chance the spacecraft will unintentionally crash into Europa and contaminate the liquid ocean. NASA is planning a series of live press conferences to explain the end of the mission and discuss Galileo's discoveries. |
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