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Jupiter Physical Data and Ephemeris

The document provides detailed physical data and ephemeris information for Jupiter, including its mass, density, radius, and gravitational characteristics. It also outlines observational data for a specific time in October 2025, detailing the apparent position, brightness, and motion of Jupiter as observed from Earth. Additionally, it includes technical notes on time conversion and observational parameters relevant to the data presented.

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heet93150
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12 views5 pages

Jupiter Physical Data and Ephemeris

The document provides detailed physical data and ephemeris information for Jupiter, including its mass, density, radius, and gravitational characteristics. It also outlines observational data for a specific time in October 2025, detailing the apparent position, brightness, and motion of Jupiter as observed from Earth. Additionally, it includes technical notes on time conversion and observational parameters relevant to the data presented.

Uploaded by

heet93150
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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Revised: April 12, 2021 Jupiter 599

PHYSICAL DATA (revised 2025-Jan-30):


Mass x 10^26 (kg) = 18.9819 Density (g/cm^3) = 1.3262 +- .0003
Equat. radius (1 bar) = 71492+-4 km Polar radius (km) = 66854+-10
Vol. Mean Radius (km) = 69911+-6 Flattening = 0.06487
Geometric Albedo = 0.52 Rocky core mass (Mc/M)= 0.0261
Sid. rot. period (III)= 9h 55m 29.711 s Sid. rot. rate (rad/s)= 0.00017585
Mean solar day, hrs = ~9.9259
GM (km^3/s^2) = 126686531.900 GM 1-sigma (km^3/s^2) = +- 1.2732
Equ. grav, ge (m/s^2) = 24.79 Pol. grav, gp (m/s^2) = 28.34
Vis. magnitude V(1,0) = -9.40
Vis. mag. (opposition)= -2.70 Obliquity to orbit = 3.13 deg
Sidereal orbit period = 11.861982204 y Sidereal orbit period = 4332.589 d
Mean daily motion = 0.0831294 deg/d Mean orbit speed, km/s= 13.0697
Atmos. temp. (1 bar) = 165+-5 K Escape speed, km/s = 59.5
A_roche(ice)/Rp = 2.76 Hill's sphere rad. Rp = 740
Perihelion Aphelion Mean
Solar Constant (W/m^2) 56 46 51
Maximum Planetary IR (W/m^2) 13.7 13.4 13.6
Minimum Planetary IR (W/m^2) 13.7 13.4 13.6
*******************************************************************************

*******************************************************************************
Ephemeris / WWW_USER Tue Nov 11 00:59:01 2025 Pasadena, USA / Horizons
*******************************************************************************
Target body name: Jupiter (599) {source: jup365_merged}
Center body name: Earth (399) {source: DE441}
Center-site name: GEOCENTRIC
*******************************************************************************
Start time : A.D. 2025-Oct-17 22:22:00.0000 UT
Stop time : A.D. 2025-Oct-17 22:24:00.0000 UT
Step-size : 1 minutes
*******************************************************************************
Target pole/equ : IAU_JUPITER {West-longitude positive}
Target radii : 71492.0, 71492.0, 66854.0 km {Equator_a, b, pole_c}
Center geodetic : 0.0, 0.0, -6378.137 {E-lon(deg),Lat(deg),Alt(km)}
Center cylindric: 0.0, 0.0, 0.0 {E-lon(deg),Dxy(km),Dz(km)}
Center pole/equ : ITRF93 {East-longitude positive}
Center radii : 6378.137, 6378.137, 6356.752 km {Equator_a, b, pole_c}
Target primary : Sun
Vis. interferer : MOON (R_eq= 1737.400) km {source: DE441}
Rel. light bend : Sun {source: jup365_merged}
Rel. lght bnd GM: 1.3271E+11 km^3/s^2
Atmos refraction: NO (AIRLESS)
RA format : HMS
Time format : CAL
Calendar mode : Mixed Julian/Gregorian
EOP file : eop.251110.p260206
EOP coverage : DATA-BASED 1962-JAN-20 TO 2025-NOV-10. PREDICTS-> 2026-FEB-05
Units conversion: 1 au= 149597870.700 km, c= 299792.458 km/s, 1 day= 86400.0 s
Table cut-offs 1: Elevation (-90.0deg=NO ),Airmass (>38.000=NO), Daylight (NO )
Table cut-offs 2: Solar elongation ( 0.0,180.0=NO ),Local Hour Angle( 0.0=NO )
Table cut-offs 3: RA/DEC angular rate ( 0.0=NO )
***********************************************************************************
***********************************************************************************
********
Date__(UT)__HR:MN R.A._____(ICRF)_____DEC APmag S-brt delta
deldot S-O-T /r S-T-O Sky_motion Sky_mot_PA RelVel-ANG Lun_Sky_Brt
sky_SNR
***********************************************************************************
***********************************************************************************
********
$$SOE
2025-Oct-17 22:22 07 42 45.68 +21 23 34.1 -2.222 5.452 5.07676161931046 -
26.7512408 90.6340 /L 11.0831 0.1941902 98.517611 -65.98840 n.a.
n.a.
2025-Oct-17 22:23 07 42 45.70 +21 23 34.1 -2.222 5.452 5.07675089016297 -
26.7512386 90.6346 /L 11.0831 0.1941852 98.517586 -65.98899 n.a.
n.a.
2025-Oct-17 22:24 07 42 45.71 +21 23 34.1 -2.222 5.452 5.07674016101635 -
26.7512364 90.6353 /L 11.0831 0.1941803 98.517561 -65.98958 n.a.
n.a.
$$EOE
***********************************************************************************
***********************************************************************************
********
Column meaning:

TIME

Times PRIOR to 1962 are UT1, a mean-solar time closely related to the
prior but now-deprecated GMT. Times AFTER 1962 are in UTC, the current
civil or "wall-clock" time-scale. UTC is kept within 0.9 seconds of UT1
using integer leap-seconds for 1972 and later years.

Conversion from the internal Barycentric Dynamical Time (TDB) of solar


system dynamics to the non-uniform civil UT time-scale requested for output
has not been determined for UTC times after the next July or January 1st.
Therefore, the last known leap-second is used as a constant over future
intervals.

Time tags refer to the UT time-scale conversion from TDB on Earth


regardless of observer location within the solar system, although clock
rates may differ due to the local gravity field and no analog to "UT"
may be defined for that location.

Any 'b' symbol in the 1st-column denotes a B.C. date. First-column blank
(" ") denotes an A.D. date.

CALENDAR SYSTEM

Mixed calendar mode was active such that calendar dates after AD 1582-Oct-15
(if any) are in the modern Gregorian system. Dates prior to 1582-Oct-5 (if any)
are in the Julian calendar system, which is automatically extended for dates
prior to its adoption on 45-Jan-1 BC. The Julian calendar is useful for
matching historical dates. The Gregorian calendar more accurately corresponds
to the Earth's orbital motion and seasons. A "Gregorian-only" calendar mode is
available if such physical events are the primary interest.

NOTE: "n.a." in output means quantity "not available" at the print-time.

'R.A._____(ICRF)_____DEC' =
Astrometric right ascension and declination of the target center with
respect to the observing site (coordinate origin) in the reference frame of
the planetary ephemeris (ICRF). Compensated for down-leg light-time delay
aberration.

Units: RA in hours-minutes-seconds of time, HH MM [Link]{ffff}


DEC in degrees-minutes-seconds of arc, sDD MN SC.f{ffff}

'APmag S-brt' =
The targets' approximate apparent visual magnitude and surface brightness.
For planets and natural satellites, output is restricted to solar phase angles
covered by observational data. Outside the observed phase angle range, "n.a."
may be output to avoid extrapolation beyond the limit of model validity.

For Earth-based observers, the estimated dimming due to atmospheric


absorption (extinction) is available as a separate, requestable quantity.

Surface brightness is the average airless visual magnitude of a


square-arcsecond of the illuminated portion of the apparent disk. It is
computed only if the target radius is known.

Units: MAGNITUDES & MAGNITUDES PER SQUARE ARCSECOND

'delta deldot' =
Apparent range ("delta", light-time aberrated) and range-rate ("delta-dot")
of the target center relative to the observer. A positive "deldot" means the
target center is moving away from the observer, negative indicates movement
toward the observer. Units: AU and KM/S

'S-O-T /r' =
Sun-Observer-Target apparent SOLAR ELONGATION ANGLE seen from the observers'
location at print-time.

The '/r' column provides a code indicating the targets' apparent position
relative to the Sun in the observers' sky, as described below:

Case A: For an observing location on the surface of a rotating body, that


body rotational sense is considered:

/T indicates target TRAILS Sun (evening sky: rises and sets AFTER Sun)
/L indicates target LEADS Sun (morning sky: rises and sets BEFORE Sun)

Case B: For an observing point that does not have a rotational model (such
as a spacecraft), the "leading" and "trailing" condition is defined by the
observers' heliocentric ORBITAL motion:

* If continuing in the observers' current direction of heliocentric


motion would encounter the targets' apparent longitude first, followed
by the Sun's, the target LEADS the Sun as seen by the observer.

* If the Sun's apparent longitude would be encountered first, followed


by the targets', the target TRAILS the Sun.

Two other codes can be output:


/* indicates observer is Sun-centered (undefined)
/? Target is aligned with Sun center (no lead or trail)

The S-O-T solar elongation angle is numerically the minimum separation


angle of the Sun and target in the sky in any direction. It does NOT indicate
the amount of separation in the leading or trailing directions, which would
be defined along the equator of a spherical coordinate system.
Units: DEGREES

'S-T-O' =
The Sun-Target-Observer angle; the interior vertex angle at target center
formed by a vector from the target to the apparent center of the Sun (at
reflection time on the target) and the apparent vector from target to the
observer at print-time. Slightly different from true PHASE ANGLE (requestable
separately) at the few arcsecond level in that it includes stellar aberration
on the down-leg from target to observer. Units: DEGREES

'Sky_motion Sky_mot_PA RelVel-ANG' =


Total apparent angular rate of the target in the plane-of-sky. "Sky_mot_PA"
is the position angle of the target's direction of motion in the plane-of-sky,
measured counter-clockwise from the apparent of-date north pole direction.
"RelVel-ANG" is the flight path angle of the target's relative motion with
respect to the observer's line-of-sight, in the range [-90,+90], where positive
values indicate motion away from the observer, negative values are toward the
observer:

-90 = target is moving directly toward the observer


0 = target is moving at right angles to the observer's line-of-sight
+90 = target is moving directly away from the observer

UNITS: ARCSECONDS/MINUTE, DEGREES, DEGREES

'Lun_Sky_Brt sky_SNR' =
Sky brightness due to moonlight scattered by Earth's atmosphere at the
target's position in the sky. "sky_SNR" is the visual signal-to-noise ratio
(SNR) of the target's surface brightness relative to background sky. Output
only for topocentric Earth observers when both the Moon and target are above
the local horizon and the Sun is in astronomical twilight (or further) below
the horizon, and the target is not the Moon or Sun. If all conditions are
not met, "n.a." is output. Galactic brightness, local sky light-pollution
and weather are NOT considered. Lunar opposition surge is considered. The
value returned is accurate under ideal conditions at the approximately 8-23%
level, so is a useful but not definitive value.

If the target-body radius is also known, "sky_SNR" is output. This is the


approximate visual signal-to-noise ratio of the target's brightness divided
by lunar sky brightness. When sky_SNR < 1, the target is dimmer than the
ideal moonlight-scattering background sky, so unlikely to be detectable at
visual wavelengths. In practice, visibility requires sky_SNR > 1 and a
detector sensitive enough to reach the target's magnitude, even if it isn't
washed out by moonlight. When relating magnitudes and brightness values,
keep in mind their logarithmic relationship m2-m1 = -2.5*log_10(b2/b1).

UNITS: VISUAL MAGNITUDES / ARCSECOND^2, and unitless ratio

Computations by ...

Solar System Dynamics Group, Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System


4800 Oak Grove Drive, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, CA 91109 USA

General site: [Link]


Mailing list: [Link]
System news : [Link]
User Guide : [Link]
Connect : browser [Link]
API [Link]
command-line telnet [Link] 6775
e-mail/batch
[Link]
scripts [Link]
Author : [Link]@[Link]

***********************************************************************************
***********************************************************************************
********

Common questions

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Jupiter has a high escape speed of 59.5 km/s, which is much greater than the thermal velocities of light gases like hydrogen and helium at its atmospheric temperature of 165 K. This high escape velocity ensures that these lighter gases cannot reach speeds necessary to escape the gravitational pull of the planet, thus allowing Jupiter to retain its primordial atmosphere composed mainly of hydrogen and helium .

The noticeable difference between Jupiter's equatorial (71492 km) and polar (66854 km) radii highlights its considerable oblateness and rapid rotation. This oblateness suggests a fluid-like internal structure, lacking a solid surface, enabling such deformation. It implies differential rotation and a dynamic internal structure possibly dominated by a small rocky core surrounded by dense, metallic hydrogen layers contributing to its overall gravitational field and magnetic dynamics .

Jupiter's geometric albedo of 0.52 indicates that it reflects more than half of the sunlight that strikes it, making it one of the brightest objects in the night sky. This high reflectivity contributes to its apparent visual magnitude of -2.70 at opposition, allowing it to be easily visible from Earth. The albedo is boosted by clouds and atmospheric constituents, which scatter sunlight effectively .

Jupiter's mean solar day, approximately 9.9259 hours, is slightly longer than its sidereal rotation period of 9h 55m 29.711s. This is because the solar day accounts for the additional time needed for Jupiter to rotate slightly more so that the same point on its surface faces the Sun again, due to its simultaneous orbit around the Sun, thereby explaining the minor temporal difference caused by its orbital movement .

Jupiter's sidereal orbit period of 11.861982204 years and mean orbital speed of 13.0697 km/s reflect its position in the solar system as the fifth planet from the Sun. These parameters confirm Kepler's laws of planetary motion, where its large orbit results in a longer period and dictates its relative motion dynamics. Its massive size and gravitational influence impact the motion of surrounding bodies and contribute to the stability of the asteroid belt within its vicinity .

On October 17, 2025, the solar elongation angle (S-O-T) observed was around 98.5 degrees, indicating that from the Earth's perspective, Jupiter was well positioned away from the Sun in the sky, likely visible during the night as it "leads the Sun" (marked "/L"), meaning it rises before the Sun sets . This configuration is optimal for astronomical observations of Jupiter as it is less likely to be obscured by solar glare.

Jupiter's oblateness, indicated by its flattening factor of 0.06487, significantly impacts its gravitational field. The high rate of rotation (sidereal rotation period of ~9.9259 hours) causes Jupiter to bulge at the equator and flatten at the poles, leading to a varied gravitational pull with equatorial gravity (24.79 m/s²) being less than polar gravity (28.34 m/s²). This variation influences orbiting objects, altering their paths differently than if Jupiter were a perfect sphere.

Jupiter's atmosphere, primarily composed of hydrogen and helium with traces of methane, ammonia, water vapor, and other compounds, influences its high geometric albedo of 0.52. The temperature at the 1-bar level is 165 K, affecting the spectral reflectance of these gases, particularly in the UV and visible light, enhancing its brightness. The presence of clouds and haze, which scatter sunlight, also contributes significantly to its reflective properties .

Jupiter's gravitational parameters, such as its GM value of 126686531.900 km³/s² and differentiated equatorial (24.79 m/s²) and polar (28.34 m/s²) gravities, pose navigation challenges for satellites. The slight differences in gravity due to its oblateness can lead to complexities in orbital stability and require precise calculations for maintaining satellite orbits and trajectories to avoid gravitational perturbations or atmospheric drag .

The phase angle, although slightly different from the S-T-O angle, influences how much sunlight reflects off Jupiter, affecting its albedo and apparent magnitude. Larger phase angles typically reduce the illuminated area visible from Earth, decreasing brightness and potentially altering albedo measurements. At small phase angles, more of Jupiter is directly illuminated, maximizing brightness and apparent reflectivity, crucial for magnitude quantification .

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