A day on Jupiter is 10 hours whilst a day on Io is around 42 – 43 hours.Jupiter’s density is 1.33 g/cm³ whilst Io’s is 3.53 g/cm³.Jupiter is far bigger with a diameter of 139,820km compared to Io’s 3,643km.Jupiter has the strongest magnetosphere in our solar system, whilst Io does not have a magnetic field surrounding it.Jupiter is composed of mostly hydrogen and helium whereas Io has a thin atmosphere composed primarily of sulfur dioxide. Jupiter has 79 moons orbiting it whilst Io has 0.Jupiter is a gas giant whilst Io is a terrestrial based moon that orbits Jupiter.Io is volcanically active whilst Jupiter being a gas giant means it is not.Both are part of the same solar system.Īs for the differences between the two, they include the below:.There are a few similarities that Jupiter and Io share, which in this case includes the following: But due to the intense volcanic activity, the lava flows can reach temperatures of 1649 degrees Celsius, which is far hotter than anything on Earth. Sitting 778,000,000km from the Sun, the surface temperature of this planet sits around -130 degrees Celsius. Io orbits Jupiter from a distance of around 422,000km, with an orbit that takes 42.5 hours to complete. Silicate rock could also be a likely component as it would account for the high temperatures. While the complete makeup of Io’s surface is not yet defined, theories suggest that its main component could be sulfur and sulfur compounds because of the varied coloring. Because of this, the surface of Io experiences a constant state of renewal sites once home to large craters are slowly filled with molten lava and liquid rock. And this creates extreme tidal forces.Ī side effect of these tidal forces is heat, which keeps most of Io’s crust in liquid form. Thanks to Io’s proximity to Jupiter, it finds itself caught between the gravity of its planet plus the two nearby moons – Ganymede and Europa. The reason for this intense activity is the tidal heating caused by friction in the moon’s interior. Perhaps the most interesting feature of this lunar body is the 400 active volcanoes on its surface, which make it the most volcanically active object in the Milky Way some of these volcanoes can exude plumes of sulfur to a height of several hundred miles. In addition, Io has the strongest surface gravity of all moons and the least water by atomic ratio compared to any other astronomical object in our solar system. It is the fourth-largest moon in our solar system by size – with a diameter of 3,643km – but has the highest density of all moons in the Milky Way. The Moon Io – also known as Jupiter I – is the third largest of the Galilean moons, which has the closest orbit to Jupiter. What this means is that Jupiter’s magnetosphere is able to avert solar winds that are 3 million kilometers away from it. In comparison to the other planets in our solar system it is even stronger than our Sun, where it’s over magnetosphere is roughly 20,000 times the strength of Earth. This brown giant has a relatively fast rotation around its axis where 1 rotation typically takes 10 hours to make whilst its orbit around the Sun is far longer taking in the region of 12 years for 1 full cycle.Īnother feature of Jupiter that is renowned by astronomers is the strength of its magnetic field. The split is roughly 71% hydrogen, 27% helium, with the remainder of the elements split throughout the left over 2%.Īs the biggest planet in our solar system, Jupiter is 139,820 km or 1,300 Earths in diameter, it has a mass of around 0.001 solar masses, the temperature when inside the clouds are roughly -145 degrees Celsius whilst the core is far hotter, equating in the region of 24,000 degrees Celsius.ĭue to its extreme circumstances, gaseous composition and distance from the Sun, the planet is not theoretically capable to support life, from its subzero temperature to the extremely fast 640 km/h winds, and its gravity which may be unsustainable for our bones, roughly 2.4 times greater than Earth’s.Īlthough the conditions on Jupiter aren’t suitable for us, some of its 79 moons like Europa for example could support life. This is because its composition mostly consists of the elements hydrogen and helium. The planets most recognizable trait is the giant red spot visible on its atmosphere along with the brown horizontal bands flowing across its atmosphere.Īs a result of its composition and size, Jupiter falls under the classification of a gas giant. Jupiter is the 5th farthest planet from the Sun and the largest planet within our local solar system.
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