Jupiter is the fifth planet in the Solar System and belongs to the group of gas giants. He got his name from the Roman god Jupiter, whose analogue in Greek mythology is Zeus. The article provides information about the parameters of the solar system, about the period of the revolution of Jupiter around the sun and about other characteristics of this giant.
solar system
Before considering the question of how much the stellar period of Jupiter’s revolution around the Sun is, let us characterize the system in which this gas giant is located.
The solar system is a combination of the main star and 8 planets that revolve around this star. This system is located in one of the arms of the Milky Way galaxy at a distance of 33,000 light years from its center. In addition to the planets, the solar system also includes small dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, meteorites and other small space bodies.
According to one common hypothesis, the space system under consideration was formed from a giant cloud of gas and dust about 4.7 billion years ago due to fragmentation and collapse processes.
Planets of the Solar System
Until August 24, 2006, it was believed that there were 9 planets in the Solar System, however, after the introduction of a special class of “dwarf planets” by the International Astronomical Union, Pluto moved into their number and the number of planets was reduced to 8.
Planets are round-shaped cosmic bodies that rotate around the Sun star in elliptical orbits and around its own axis. The distance from the planet to the star is called the radius of its orbit, and since the orbit has an elliptical shape, there are two such radii: large and small. As a rule, the distance to each next planet from the Sun is 2 times greater than to the previous one. All the planets of the solar system, with the exception of Mercury and Venus, have satellites, that is, cosmic bodies rotating around them. The most famous of these satellites is the moon.
The planets closest to the Sun are called internal, there are 4 of them (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars). All these planets are characterized by small size, high density of the matter that forms them (solid), low rotation speed around its own axis, and also the presence of an insignificant number of natural satellites. Planets located on the periphery of the solar system are called giants. These are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They are characterized by a low density of matter (gas), rapid rotation around the axis and a large number of satellites. In addition, the period of revolution of the planets Jupiter, Saturn and other giants around the Sun is much longer than the period of internal planets.
Jupiter is the largest planet of the system in question, and Mercury is the smallest. Venus is close in size and mass to the Earth, and Mars has 2 times less mass than the Earth.
In addition to the described planets and their satellites, in the solar system there are many asteroids and comets. A large number of asteroids rotate between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter (asteroid belt).
What is the planet Jupiter?
Jupiter is the brightest planet in our firmament. In addition, in size it takes second place after the sun itself. If we add all the masses of the planets of the solar system, then the mass of Jupiter will be almost 2 times greater. The mass of this giant is 318 times greater than the earth, and its volume is 1317 times larger than the size of our planet. Some scientists believe that Jupiter is older than the sun itself.
Jupiter consists mainly of helium and hydrogen, which are in a gaseous state. Among its main features of the atmosphere are a large red spot (a huge anticyclone located in the tropical zone of the planet), the structure of its clouds, which have the form of dark and light ribbons, as well as the high dynamics of its atmosphere, in which winds blow at speeds up to 500 km / h
Jupiter rotates around its axis faster than 10 hours, which is a record value for the solar system. Before speaking about the period of the revolution of Jupiter around the Sun in Earth days, it should be noted that the average radius of its orbit is 778 million km, which is approximately equal to 5 distances from our star to our planet.
Theories of Jupiter's Education
There are two theories of formation of this giant planet:
- The planet was formed from an ice mass weighing 10 Earth planets, which gradually collected gas around itself from the space around.
- The planet was formed due to gravitational collapse, which is similar to that during the formation of stars.
Both theories have a right to exist, but it is impossible to explain some facts about Jupiter. For example, why the planet is so large, it is also unclear how impossible it is to explain the saturation of the atmosphere of this giant with noble gases. A study of the internal structure of the planet should clarify these and other issues.
The period of the revolution of Jupiter around the Sun
As already mentioned above, Jupiter is located at a distance of 5.2 astronomical units (AE) from the Sun, that is, 5.2 times farther than the Earth. According to measured data, the period of Jupiter's revolution around the Sun is 12 years, during which time the Earth manages to make almost 12 revolutions around the Sun. The more accurate value of the period of Jupiter is 11.86 Earth years.
It was noted above that the shape of the orbit of any planet in the solar system is an ellipse, but in Jupiter it is almost circular. This can be proved in a simple way. The average radius of the orbit of this giant is R = 778412026 km. If you find the circumference of the planet’s orbit (2 * pi * R, where pi = 3.14) and divide it by the average velocity of the giant in its orbit v = 13.0697 km / s, then you can get the value of the rotation period of Jupiter equal to 11, 86 years, which exactly coincides with the experimentally measured value.
In fairness, we note that during its orbital rotation, Jupiter approaches the star at a minimum distance of 4.95 AU, and moves away at a maximum distance of 5.46 AE, which means that the shape of its orbit differs from the ideal circle by approximately 4.8%.
If we express the period of the revolution of Jupiter around the Sun in Earth days, then this number will be 11 years 315 days and 1.1 hours or 4334 days, taking into account leap years.
Feature of the rotation of the giant planet in its orbit
Opening the question of what period of revolution of Jupiter revolves around the Sun in days, it is necessary to tell about one curious fact. We are used to thinking that Jupiter, like the rest of the planets, revolves around our star, but this is not entirely true. The whole blame for the mass of the gas giant, which is only 1000 times less than the mass of the Sun. For comparison, we note that the mass of our blue planet is 330 thousand times less than the mass of the Sun, and the mass of Saturn , the second largest planet in the solar system, is 3500 times less than the solar.
At the same time, it is known from physics that two bodies that rotate around each other actually rotate around a common center of gravity or barycenter. If one of these two bodies has a much larger mass than the second body, then the barycenter practically coincides with the center of mass of the first massive body. The latter situation is observed if we consider the rotation of any planet around the sun.
If we are talking about the rotation of Jupiter, then in reality, due to the influence of the strong gravity of this giant, our star also rotates in some small orbit, the radius of which is equal to 1.068 of the radius of the Sun. The described phenomenon is shown in the figure below, where Jupiter is designated by the word Jupiter.
Where can I see Jupiter in the sky?
Since Jupiter is farther from the Sun than our planet, and the period of Jupiter's revolution around the Sun is much longer than this value for the Earth, a giant can be seen at any point in the ecliptic, and its eclipses by the Sun may exist. Note that the planets Venus and Mercury are closer to our star than the Earth, so they can only be seen in the direction of the Sun.
Jupiter is the second brightest planet (the first Venus), which can be seen in the sky with the naked eye. The planet has a white and yellow color. With the help of a telescope, the atmosphere and satellites of this giant are visible.
The basics of astrology
Astronomical science is closely connected with astronomical parameters and the movement of bodies in the solar system, which is based on the existence of a correlation between celestial and earthly events. Currently, two main types of astrology are distinguished: western (popular in Europe and America) and eastern (China, India).
In Western astrology, there are 12 constellations that form the zodiac circle, which the Sun, when viewed from the Earth, passes during the 1st earth year. The line along which our star makes its annual movement is called the ecliptic. All the zodiac constellations, when viewed from the Earth, form a strip with a width of 30 o , in the middle of this strip passes the line of the ecliptic.
In astrology, it is believed that when the Sun is located near a particular constellation of the zodiac, then people born at this time will have certain qualities. But these qualities are determined not only by the time of year when a person was born, but also by the position of the planets in the solar system.
Jupiter in astrology
In astrology, this planet is a sociability of man. She is associated with travel, philosophy, and religious beliefs. In accordance with the period of the revolution of Jupiter around the Sun, the planet needs almost 1 Earth year to go through the entire zodiac circle. Jupiter is considered the patron planet for the zodiac signs Sagittarius and Pisces.