The Hunt. An ammo can wedged in the rocks with a rock on top. It fits only one way so be sure to note that when you pull it out.
Name. Jupiter was the ancient father and provider. He determined the course of human affairs and foretold the future through the flight of birds and other signs. Lightning and thunder expressed his anger, and the planet's symbol is a stylized lightning bolt. We also get "jovial" from the word Jove, one of the forms of the name Jupiter, which means "born under the lucky planet, Jupiter, and therefore happy and healthy."
Factoids. Jupiter is the first of the outer, gas giant planets as we head out from the Sun. It is comprised mostly of hydrogen and helium with many trace elements. It has no clearly defined surface but rather a complex layering of clouds, liquid and other states of matter at high pressure the deeper it goes. The orange and brown coloration in the clouds we see are caused by upwelling compounds that change color when they are exposed to ultraviolet light from the Sun. The exact makeup is uncertain but may include phosphorus, sulfur and hydrocarbons.
Jupiter's mass is one-thousandth that of the Sun but is 2.5 times the mass of all the other planets combined. Jupiter has been called the Solar System's vacuum cleaner because its large size and gravity attract objects. It has scores of moons, one of them larger than Mercury, and even has thin rings. It is the only planet on which we have observed collisions with other objects.
- Distance from Sun = 5.2 AU (484 million miles)
- Diameter = 11.2 Earths (88,845 miles)
- Length of year in Earth years = 11.9
- Satellites = 66
- Mean surface temperature = 165 K (-163 F)
- Weight of 100 pounds on surface = 234
Exploration. Jupiter has been known since ancient times. It is visible to the naked eye in the night sky and can occasionally be seen in the daytime when the sun is low. It rotates faster than any other planet which creates an equatorial bulge and dramatic features in the outer atmosphere. Prominent among these features is the Great Red Spot, a giant eye-like storm that is known to have existed since at least the 17th century.
Jupiter has been a destination for several missions. The Pioneer 10 flyby in 1973 was the first spacecraft sent there. Voyager 1 provided the earliest clear photos in 1979. The Ulysses, Cassini and New Horizons spacecraft have all returned valuable data on Jupiter and its moons, often while using the planet's gravity for help in getting elsewhere. An orbiter, Juno, was launched in 2011 and should arrive at Jupiter in 2016.
