---
title: "Jupiter: facts, distance and size – Krillion Space"
description: "Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, a giant ball of mostly hydrogen and helium with no solid surface. Size, distance and sourced facts."
url: https://krilion.app/atlas/jupiter
language: en-US
---

# Jupiter

Gas giant. Depth 4 on the Krillion Space voyage, in the Inner Sol.

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, a giant ball of mostly hydrogen and helium with no solid surface. It has more than 300 times Earth's mass, a storm larger than Earth, and a large family of moons that includes Ganymede, the biggest moon in the solar system.

![Jupiter at depth 4 in Krillion Space, mapped with Cassini images (NASA / JPL / SSI).](https://krilion.app/assets/atlas/jupiter.webp)

## Fact sheet

- **Type:** Gas giant
- **Distance:** About 778 million km (484 million miles), or 5.2 AU, from the Sun on average
- **Size:** Diameter about 142,984 km (88,846 miles) at the equator, about 11 times Earth's
- **Discovered:** Known since antiquity
- **On the voyage:** Depth 4, in the Inner Sol section of the route, between Ceres and Io

## Things to know

- Jupiter spins once in about 9.9 hours, the shortest day of any planet, but takes about 12 Earth years to orbit the Sun. ([NASA](https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-facts/))
- Jupiter's mass is about 318 times Earth's. ([NASA NSSDC](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/jupiterfact.html))
- The Great Red Spot is a storm about twice Earth's width that has been watched for more than 300 years, and Juno's gravity data show it reaches about 500 km (300 miles) deep. ([NASA](https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-facts/))
- Deep inside, hydrogen is squeezed into an electrically conducting liquid metal, and Juno found the core is larger and fuzzier than expected, partly mixed into its surroundings. ([NASA](https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-facts/))
- Eight cyclones form an octagon around Jupiter's north pole, while five form a pentagon at the south pole. ([NASA](https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-facts/))

## Missions

Pioneer 10 (1973), Pioneer 11 (1974) and Voyager 1 and 2 (1979) flew past, Galileo orbited until 2003, Cassini passed by in 2000, and Juno has orbited since 2016; NASA's Europa Clipper is due in 2030 and ESA's Juice in 2031.

## Sources

- [NASA – Jupiter: Facts](https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-facts/)
- [NASA NSSDC – Jupiter Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/jupiterfact.html)
- [NASA – Jupiter Exploration](https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/exploration/)
- [ESA – Juice](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice)

## On the route

- Previous landmark: [Ceres](https://krilion.app/atlas/ceres)
- Next landmark: [Io](https://krilion.app/atlas/io)
- [The whole Star Atlas](https://krilion.app/atlas)
- [Fly the voyage yourself](https://krilion.app/d/): every right answer warps your ship one stop deeper.