2D Puzzle of the Planet Jupiter in our Solar System
500 pieces
Size when assembled: 65 cm diameter
Suitable for children from 9 years
Caution: danger of suffocation. Not suitable for children under 3 years. Small parts may be swallowed
Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, with an equatorial diameter of around 143,000 kilometres. With an average distance of 778 million kilometres, it is the fifth planet as seen from the Sun. It is named after the Roman chief god Jupiter. Like Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, the planet has no solid surface. The almost parallel stripes visible even in a small telescope are coloured cloud bands. Due to its chemical composition, Jupiter is a gas planet. These "gas giants" form the group of outer planets in the solar system; they are also called Jupiter-like (Jovian) planets. In this group, Jupiter is the innermost planet; it orbits the Sun beyond the asteroid belt. By 1980, 16 moons were known, including 6 only about 20 km across. The Voyager space probes of the 1980s discovered over 40 more; as of 2019, 79 moons are known. The four largest so-called Galilean moons, Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa, have diameters between 5262 and 3122 km and were discovered as early as 1610. Jupiter is the third brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus; only rarely can Mars be slightly brighter. In Babylonia, it was considered a royal star because of its golden-yellow light (see also Star of Bethlehem).