Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System, with a mass 2.5 times that of all the other planets combined. This planet is quite peculiar as it lacks a solid surface, meaning you cannot actually walk on it.
Giant Planet
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. According to Universe Today, Jupiter has an equatorial diameter of 142,984 kilometers, which is more than 11 times that of Earth.
Jupiter’s mass is 2.5 times that of all the planets in the Solar System combined, while the Sun accounts for 99.9% of the total mass of the Solar System.
Jupiter belongs to the group of gas giants in the Solar System, alongside Saturn. Uranus and Neptune are classified as ice giants, while the remaining planets are terrestrial planets.
According to Space, as you move inward toward the core of Jupiter, pressure and temperature gradually increase. Therefore, as you descend deeper, hydrogen changes state from gas to liquid and can even become metallic.
Jupiter takes about 10 hours to complete one rotation on its axis. Its rotational speed is the fastest in the Solar System, finishing a rotation in less than 10 hours (9.9 hours). Consequently, a day on Jupiter is shorter than a day on Earth. The axial tilt of Jupiter is relatively small, only 3.13 degrees. This is why the planet does not experience significant seasonal changes like Earth and Mars.
Unlike Earth, Jupiter has no solid surface.
What Would Happen If You Were Dropped on Jupiter?
Unlike Earth, Jupiter has no solid surface. Jupiter is a massive ball of gas along with a few other substances, pulled together to form the shape of a planet. The gases in Jupiter’s atmosphere also have a “ceiling,” or “upper layer”; the gaseous layers thin out as you move away from the planet’s center.
If you were dropped from a position outside the visible atmosphere of Jupiter, as you fell into the atmosphere about 300,000 km (we’ll call this point the “surface”), you would die from radiation poisoning.
However, if you were wearing an indestructible spacesuit, you would be fine. Instead, due to Jupiter’s immense mass, your falling speed would begin to increase. Continuing to fall, you would enter the upper atmospheric layer of Jupiter, passing through clouds of ammonia.
You would not catch fire during this fall because you have already passed through the thickest part of the atmosphere. The heat from friction and supersonic pressure would not burn you at this stage.
After a few minutes, as you continue to fall, you would pass through an area with pressure twice that of the average pressure on Earth’s surface. The deeper you fall, the higher the atmospheric pressure becomes. The environmental temperature would also rise. Everything around you would gradually darken, and after a few minutes, it would be completely pitch black, with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Celsius.
As the temperature continues to rise, when you reach the inner region of the planet, the pressure and density of the atmosphere would be quite high, causing your falling speed to decrease to a minimum.
At this level, you would see a massive ocean of liquid metallic hydrogen, as the extremely high atmospheric pressure has converted gaseous hydrogen into liquid form. In the Solar System, Jupiter has the fastest rotation speed, and as it spins, this ocean of liquid metal would swirl, creating the strongest magnetic field in the Solar System.
Ultimately, the point you reach would be under a pressure of 2 million bars and temperatures as high as the Sun, making it impossible for you to continue falling or to survive. Space scientists still do not know whether Jupiter is entirely gas or has a solid and hot core. Therefore, the idea of a person setting foot on Jupiter’s surface is impossible.
| The gravitational force on Jupiter is very strong, approximately 135,000 miles/hour (217,224 km/h). Jupiter’s magnetic field is 20 times stronger than Earth’s. Jupiter rotates faster than other planets, so a day on Jupiter is only 10 hours long compared to a day on Earth. Temperature and pressure steadily increase within Jupiter as you approach its core. The temperature of Jupiter’s core is estimated to be around 24,000 degrees, hotter than the surface of the Sun. If Jupiter were to grow 80 times larger, it would become a star rather than a planet as it is now. |
