Galileo’s planet: Jupiter

Jupiter is the Solar System’s largest planet.

Its volume is 1,321-times larger than Earth’s and its mass is 318 times ours.

It’s named after the Roman god Jupiter, the god of sky and thunder.

It’s the fourth-brightest object in the sky after the Sun, Moon and Venus.

Jupiter has 53 confirmed moons, its four largest being Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede.

The ‘King of the Solar System’ has faint dusty rings. They weren’t discovered until 1979.

The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is a storm that’s large enough to engulf the Earth. It’s been swirling for at least 300 years.

It has the fastest rotation in the Solar System, completing a spin in less than ten hours – fast enough to cause a bulge at the equator.

It’s difficult to pinpoint when Jupiter was discovered – being visible to the naked eye, records date back to the 7th or 8th century CE.