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The Jovian Planets
The Jovian, or gaseous, planets have
rocky cores surrounded by thick
atmospheres. The radius is measured to
the point at which the pressure drops
to 1 atmosphere.
The Voyager Mission
Jupiter
Diameter
11 DE
Rotation Period
10 hours
Orbital Period
12 years
Distance from Sun
5.203AU
Orbit Eccentricity
0.05
Tilt
3 degrees
Temperature
-120C
Atmosphere
hydrogen, helium,
ammonia and methane
Gravity
2.34g
Moons
>39
Visits
Pioneer 10 & 11,
Voyager 1 & 2,
Galileo, Cassini
Voyager 1
Io
The
Galilean
Moons
3630 km
Ganymede
5260 km
4800 km
Europa
3140 km
Callisto
The Galileo Probe
Launched by space shuttle in 1989
Gravity assists with the Venus and the Earth
Observed asteroid Ida, SL9 impact on Jupiter
Arrived at Jupiter in December 1995
Dropped probe into Jupiter's atmosphere
Orbited the Galilean moons until 2003
Being the closest
moon to Jupiter,
Io's core is
heated by
Jupiter's tidal
forces, creating
large-scale
volcanic activity
that coats the
moon's surface
with yellow
sulfur.
Io
Io has a young
surface, with
no impact
craters, which
is constantly
being renewed
Shoemaker-Levy 9
Impact Upon
Jupiter