SpaceAbout Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest planet. NASA says it has more than twice the combined material of the other bodies in the solar system apart from the Sun. Its stripes and swirls are cold, windy clouds of ammonia and water floating in an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium. The Great Red Spot is a giant storm, bigger than Earth, that has raged for hundreds of years.
Source: NASA, read on 12 November 2026.
Jupiter compared with Earth
Size. Jupiter is 142,984 km across. That is 11.2 times the width of Earth (12,756 km). About 11.2 Earths would fit side by side across it. Its mass is 317.9 times Earth's.
Gravity and your weight. Gravity at its cloud tops is 23.1 m/s², against 9.8 on Earth. So things weigh 236% of what they do on Earth. Someone who weighs 50 kg on Earth would feel like 117.9 kg there. The giant planets have no solid surface to stand on, so the figure is for the level in the atmosphere where the pressure is 1 bar. Try your own weight in the weight calculator.
Day. Jupiter turns once on its axis in 9.9 hours. From one noon to the next, its day lasts 9.9 hours.
Year. One trip round the Sun takes 4,331 Earth days, which is 11.86 Earth years. A ten-year-old on Earth would be 0.8 years old there, counting in that world's years. See the age calculator.
Distance. Jupiter is on average 778.5 million km from the Sun, between 740.6 million km at its closest and 816.4 million km at its farthest. Sunlight takes 43.3 minutes to arrive. That is 5.2 times Earth's distance.
Tilt and temperature. Its axis is tilted by 3.1°. It is so close to upright that it has almost no seasons. The mean temperature in the fact sheet is −110 °C.
Moons, rings and magnetism. The fact sheet counts 95 moons for Jupiter. Rings: yes. A global magnetic field: yes.
All the figures
| Diameter | 142,984 km |
|---|---|
| Mass | 1,898 × 10²⁴ kg |
| Density | 1,326 kg/m³ |
| Gravity | 23.1 m/s² |
| Escape velocity | 59.5 km/s |
| Rotation period | 9.9 hours |
| Length of day | 9.9 hours |
| Distance from the Sun | 778.5 million km |
| Closest | 740.6 million km |
| Farthest | 816.4 million km |
| Orbital period | 4,331 days |
| Orbital velocity | 13.1 km/s |
| Orbital inclination | 1.3° |
| Orbital eccentricity | 0.049 |
| Tilt of axis | 3.1° |
| Mean temperature | −110 °C |
| Surface pressure | Unknown |
| Moons | 95 |
| Rings | Yes |
| Global magnetic field | Yes |
Figures: NASA NSSDCA Planetary Fact Sheet, last updated by NASA on 18 March 2025, read on 12 November 2026. NASA rounds these values. Counts of moons change as new ones are confirmed.
Common questions
How big is Jupiter compared with Earth?
Jupiter is 142,984 km across, 11.21 times the diameter of Earth.
How long is a day on Jupiter?
From noon to noon, a day on Jupiter lasts 9.9 hours.
How many moons does Jupiter have?
The NASA fact sheet read on 12 November 2026 gives 95.