Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within
the solar system. It is two and a half times as massive as all of the
other planets in our solar system combined. Jupiter, along with
Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, is classified as a gas giant. When viewed
from Earth, Jupiter can reach an apparent magnitude of -2.8, making it
the fourth brightest object in the night sky. The planet was known by
astronomers of ancient times and was associated with the mythology and
religious beliefs of many cultures. Jupiter is primarily composed of
hydrogen with only a small proportion of helium; it may also have a
rocky core of heavier elements. The outer atmosphere is visibly
segregated into several bands at different latitudes, resulting in
turbulence and storms along their interacting boundaries. A prominent
result is the Great Red Spot, a giant storm that is known to have
existed since at least the seventeenth century. Surrounding the planet
is a faint planetary ring system and a powerful magnetosphere. There
are also at least 63 moons, including the four large moons called the
Galilean moons that were first discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610.
Jupiter has been explored on several occasions by robotic spacecraft,
most notably during the early Pioneer and Voyager fly-by missions and
later by the Galileo orbiter.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1523:
Gustav Vasa became King of Sweden, marking the end of the Kalmar
Union.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_I_of_Sweden)
1683:
Oxford University's Ashmolean Museum, the world's first university
museum, opened.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashmolean_Museum)
1894:
Colorado Governor Davis H. Waite ordered his state militia to protect
and support the miners engaged in the Cripple Creek miners' strike.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cripple_Creek_miners'_strike_of_1894)
1933:
The first ever drive-in theater opened in Camden, New Jersey, United
States.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive-in_theater)
1944:
The Battle of Normandy began with 155,000 Allied troops landing on the
beaches of Normandy in the largest amphibious military operation in
history.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Normandy)
1982:
A war in Lebanon began when Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon to
root out members of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Lebanon_War)
2005:
The U.S. Supreme Court delivered its landmark legal decision in
Gonzales v. Raich, allowing the U.S. Congress to ban medical marijuana
even in states that approve its use.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzales_v._Raich)
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Wikiquote of the day:
Opinions cannot survive if one has no chance to fight for them. --
Thomas Mann
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Mann)