Posted on by Jerry Coffey

Weight on Jupiter

Jupiter's Red Spot

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If you are worried about your weight, do not go to Jupiter. The Jovian gravity is much more intense than Earth’s. 2.528 times more intense to be exact. That means if you weigh 100 kg on Earth, your weight on Jupiter would be 252.8 kg.

Of course, you can not stand on the surface of Jupiter. Jupiter is composed of about 90% hydrogen and 9.99% helium. The gaseous nature of the planet makes a solid surface impossible. Scientists have devised a way to define the surface of Jupiter, though. The surface of the planet is defined as the point where the pressure of the atmosphere is 1 bar, which is equal to the atmospheric pressure at Earth’s surface. That point is at the tops of Jupiter’s clouds.

Now that we have defined your weight on Jupiter, let’s move to on some other interesting facts about the planet. To start off, even though it is the largest planet in our Solar System, it is not the largest planet that we know of. While there are several planets larger than Jupiter, the largest known to man is TrES-4. TrES-4 is 70% larger than Jupiter, but is quite a bit less massive. Scientists think that it has a structure similar to cotton candy for lack of a better analogy.

Since Jupiter’s gravity is so intense, it has trapped quite a few moons. The are 63 acknowledged Jovian moons and there are a few others being studied, so that number could go up at any time.

Jupiter has a system of rings. Many people are surprised to find out that Saturn is not the only ringed planet in our Solar System. In addition to Saturn; Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune have rings. Rings are generally formed by dust and debris left orbiting after a meteorite impact on a moon. With so many moons, you would think that Jupiter would have a bunch of rings. It only has four defined rings, though.

A day on Jupiter is just under 10 Earth hours long, but a single years lasts 11.86 Earth years.

Some scientists think that Jupiter’s gravity is intense enough to affect the Sun. They believe that when Jupiter is at its closest approach to the Sun, solar flare activity increases. Others believe that Jupiter’s gravity may eventually push Mercury our of our Solar System.

Now that you know what your weight on Jupiter would be, we hope that you will want to research more Jovian facts.

We’ve written several articles about your weight on other planets. Here’s an article about your weight on the Moon, and here’s a link about your weight on Mercury.

If you’d like more information on Jupiter, check out Hubblesite’s News Releases about Jupiter, and here’s a link to NASA’s Solar System Exploration Guide to Jupiter.

We’ve also recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast just about Jupiter. Listen here, Episode 56: Jupiter.

Source: NASA

Posted on by Abby Cessna

Weight on Other Planets

Planets and other objects in our Solar System. Credit: NASA.

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Many children, and even adults, dream of visiting other planets and wonder what it would be like to stand on another planet. For one thing, your weight would be different on another planet, depending on a number of factors including the mass of the planet and how far you are away from the center of the planet.

Before we start, it’s important to understand that the kilogram is actually a measurement of your mass. And your mass doesn’t change when you go anywhere in the Universe and experience different amounts of gravity. Your weight is best measured in newtons. But since your bathroom doesn’t measure your weight in newtons, we’ll use kilograms. This is what your bathroom scale would say if you stepped on another world.

Mercury is the smallest planet in our Solar System, but it is dense. Because Mercury is so small, it has very little gravity. If you weighed 68 kg on Earth, you would only weigh 25.7 kg on Mercury. 

Venus is very close to Earth in size and mass. Venus’ mass is roughly 90% of the mass of the Earth. Thus, it is no surprise that someone would weigh a similar amount on Venus. Someone who weighed 68 kg on Earth would weigh 61.6 kg on Venus.

Mars is quite a bit smaller than Earth with only 11% of our planet’s mass. Mars is larger than Mercury, but it is not as dense as the smaller planet. If you weighed 68 kg on Earth then you would weigh 25.6 kg on Mars. Since Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet, Mars became the planet where you would weigh the least.

Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System with the most mass. Because of Jupiter’s mass, you would weigh more on that planet than on any other one in our Solar System. If you weighed 68 kg on Earth then you would weigh 160.7 kg on Jupiter, over twice your normal weight. That is if you could actually stand on Jupiter’s surface, which is impossible because it is a gas giant, and gas giants do not have solid surfaces.

Saturn is a gas giant best known for its planetary rings system. It is also the second biggest planet in our Solar System. Despite its mass though, the planet has a very low density and a lower gravity than Earth. If you weighed 68 kg on Earth, you would weigh 72.3 kg on Saturn.

Uranus is a gas giant without a solid surface. Although Uranus is larger in size than Neptune, it has less mass and therefore less gravity. You would only weigh 60.4 kg on Uranus, if you weighed 68 kg on Earth.

Neptune, the last planet in our Solar System, is a gas giant. If you weighed 68 kg on Earth, then you would weigh 76.5 kg on Neptune if you could stand on the planet’s surface.

Although the Moon is not a planet, it is one of the few objects that astronauts have actually visited. Because the Moon is so small, it has a low density and low gravity. If you weighed 68 kg on Earth, then you would only weigh 11.2 kg on the Moon.

Universe Today has a number of articles to check out including weight on the moon and mass of the planets.

If you are looking for more information then determine your weight on other planets and facts about the planets.

Astronomy Cast has an episode on gravity.