Sky Lights: Jupiter Rules

The solar system's grandest world is also one of the most enigmatic.

By Bob Berman
Jun 25, 2006 5:00 AMNov 12, 2019 4:22 AM

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While astronomers bicker over whether our solar system has 8 planets or 10—Does puny Pluto count? What about that upstart Xena?—here's a radical thought: Our solar system has only one true planet, and its name is Jupiter.

Jupiter's mass is greater than all the other planets combined and doubled. It is so enormous it could swallow 1,400 Earths. Everything else is pretty much debris in comparison. In short, if you want to understand what a planet is, you need to understand Jupiter. And yet, we don't. We've sent five probes whizzing past it and parked one in a long-term orbit around it, but we just keep running into bigger puzzles.

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