What is the fifth planet from the sun?

Answer 1

Jupiter (planet), fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet in the solar system. The fourth brightest object in Earth’s sky, after the Sun, the Moon, and Venus, Jupiter is more than three times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star. Due to its prominence in the sky, the Romans named the planet for their chief god, Jupiter.

Jupiter is the largest of the planets, with a volume 1400 times greater than that of the earth. Jupiter’s colorful bands are caused by strong atmospheric currents and accentuated by a dense cloud cover. The massive planet, upper right, is shown here with the four largest of its sixteen satellites: Europa, center, nearest Jupiter, Io upper left, Callisto lower left, and Ganymede lower right.NASA/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.

Jupiter orbits the Sun at an average distance of 780 million km (480 million mi), which is about five times the distance from Earth to the Sun. Jupiter’s year, or the time it takes to complete an orbit about the Sun, is 11.9 Earth years, and its day, or the time it takes to rotate on its axis, is about 9.9 hours, less than half an Earth day.

Unlike the rocky inner planets of the solar system (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), Jupiter is a ball of dense gas and has no solid surface. Jupiter may have a core composed of rock-forming minerals like those trapped in comet ices, but the core makes up less than 5 percent of the planet’s mass. The force of gravity at the level of the highest clouds in Jupiter’s atmosphere is about 2.5 times the force of gravity at Earth’s surface.

Gas and clouds in Jupiter’s atmosphere travel at high speeds. This phenomenon is not fully understood but it is related to the planet’s high rate of rotation. These gases and clouds travel faster at the equator than at higher latitudes. The gases and clouds of the atmosphere are thrown outward as the planet rotates, similar to the manner in which mud is thrown outward from a spinning wheel. The balance between gravity and this outward force, which is proportional to the rotational speed of the atmosphere, noticeably distorts the planet’s round shape. Higher speed at the equator produces greater outward force, causing an equatorial bulge, whereas lower speed at the poles gives gravity the edge, leading to polar flattening. Jupiter’s equatorial diameter is 143,000 km (89,000 mi), 6.5 percent larger that the polar diameter of 133,700 km (83,000 mi).

Major storms often appear suddenly on Jupiter. Evidence suggests that, unlike storms on Earth, which are driven by solar heating of the atmosphere, Jupiter’s storms are caused by bubbles of warmer gas rising through the atmosphere from deep within the planet. These bubbles, carrying varying amounts of heat, create cloud systems that are constrained on the north and south by bands of strong wind blowing in opposite directions. Unable to move north or south, and with no solid landmasses to create friction, the storms roll in the winds and feed off smaller storm systems for weeks or longer.

Jupiter’s most famous storm, the Great Red Spot, has persisted for centuries. The Great Red Spot is so enormous that if three Earths were placed side by side in front of it, they would scarcely span it. The earliest report of a red spot was by Robert Hooke in 1664, although scientists are not sure if the current spot has existed continuously since that time. The cause of the Great Red Spot is not yet known, but its motion is such that it must sustain itself on energy gained from the upper atmosphere, perhaps by absorbing the energy of smaller atmospheric disturbances. It cannot be linked to a heat source deep in the atmosphere, because it moves slowly westward at an irregular rate. The red color of the spot appears to be caused by impurities such as sulfur or phosphorous compounds that absorb ultraviolet, violet, and blue light.

In 1938, three smaller, separate storms formed in a belt near 30° south latitude. Because of their color and shape, these storms were called white ovals. In 1998 astronomers observed that two of these white ovals had merged to form a slightly larger storm system, visible as a single white oval. In 2000 the remaining two storm systems combined into a single storm. Although this storm is still smaller than the Great Red Spot, the east-west dimension of the remaining white oval is roughly equal to the diameter of Earth. The storm rotates in a counter-clockwise direction as seen from above. Weather systems on Earth that behave in this manner have air masses rising near their centers. Analysis of infrared light that the white ovals on Jupiter emit reveals that they are composed of ammonia ice and that their temperature is -157°C (-251°F). At this temperature ammonia forms white crystals. Thus, the data contributes to a consistent picture of rising ammonia gas expanding, freezing, and forming a fresh white ice cloud above the weather system.

Answer 2

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun.

Answer 3

Hopefully Jupiter♥

Answer 4

Jupiter

Answer 5

Jupiter

Answer 6

Jupiter

Answer 7

Jupiter

Answer 8

Jupiter

Answer 9

Jupiter is the fifth

Answer 10

Just remember: "My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" to recall the planets in order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, JUPITER, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto (oops, Pluto no longer a full planet, but this still tells us where it is).

Answer 11

Jupiter.