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Jupiter Biggest planet of the solar system -- 143,000 km in diameter. Because of this Jupiter also has the largest mass (1.9 * 1027 kg), the highest surface gravity (2.529 of Earth), the highest escape velocity (59.5 km/s), and the highest core pressure (50 million Earth atmospheres) of any planet. Jupiter may also have the highest core temperature with Saturn very close behind. Largest angular diameter of any planet (50 arc seconds) except when Venus is at its best (60 arc seconds). However when Venus is at its largest it only shows a thin crescent, whereas Jupiter shows its entire disk. Adrastea has the largest known density of any moon -- 4.5. Io: Most volcanic object in the solar system. The tides from Jupiter are very strong because of Io's close distance. The tides are frozen in place, however, since Io has an eccentric orbit, at times Io is closer to Jupiter than at other times. This causes the tidal bulge to be stretched. Also, Europa and Ganymede add significant tidal pressures on Io when they pass close. When on a moon closer to Jupiter than Io or on Jupiter itself, when Io eclipses the Sun, the primary-light is the strongest in the solar system. We can't even see Earth light on the Moon during a total solar eclipse. When Io is in eclipse it suddenly blinks on. Jupiter's small moon Sinope, is the moon at the greatest distance from its primary (23,700,000 km or about 60 times the Earth-Moon distance, and 40% the Sun-Mercury distance). This moon is actually invisible to the naked eye from Jupiter. |