A Tour of the Planets

Uncharted Space: Jupiter

Jupiter
Jupiter is often referred to as the "King of Planets" as it is the largest known object (not counting the sun) in the solar system, and comprises roughly 2/3rds of the mass of the entire known solar system. Jupiter has an intense magnetic field and seems to emit a significant amount of heat. Jupiter's gravity is also very intense and Jupiter influences virtually all the other planets with its gravity.

Data:
Diameter: Surface
area: 		Surface
Gravity: 		Day: Year: Orbital
distance:
89,000 miles
126 Earths
2.5 Earths
9 hrs., 55 mins.
11.86 years
480 million miles
 
Jupiter has a variety of moons. Jupiter's gravity is strong enough that each of it's moons has a synchronous orbit; i.e., one side of each moon always faces Jupiter, just as Earth's moon faces Earth. As a result, the side that faces Jupiter tends to be warmer than the side that faces away. There are four large moons (each with a section below) which were the first moons to be discovered orbiting another planet, by Galileo in 1610. Jupiter has a number of minor moons (none of which had been discovered yet in 1889) but Amalthea, the largest of these, has a diameter of only 122 miles. Most of these minor moons are much smaller. A list of minor moons appears below. Moons indicated with an asterisk (*) have been discovered recently (year 2000 or later).

Table of Jupiter's Moons

Name Diameter Orbital Distance Period of Revolution
Metis
25 miles
80,000 miles
0.29 days
Adrastea
12.5 miles
80,600 miles
0.3 days
Amalthea
123 miles
113,000 miles
0.49 days
Thebe
63 miles
139,000 miles
0.67 days
Io
2270 miles
217,500 miles
1.77 days
Europa
1960 miles
419,000 miles
3.55 days
Ganymede
3288 miles
669,000 miles
7.15 days
Callisto
3000 miles
1,177,000 miles
16.69 days
Themisto*
5.6 miles
4,692,000 miles
130 days
Leda
10 miles
6,933,000 miles
239 days
Himalia
116 miles
7,175,000 miles
252 days
Lysithea
22.5 miles
7,325,000 miles
259 days
Elara
48 miles
7,336,000 miles
260 days
Carpo*
2 miles
10,618,000 miles
456 days
Ananke
19 miles
13,250,000 miles
611 days
Carme
25 miles
14,125,000 miles
702 days
Pasiphae
31 miles
14,765,000 miles
708 days
Sinope
22.5 miles
14,962,000 miles
725 days

A large variety of small irregular moons orbit Jupiter in the vacinity of Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, and Sinope. All of these moons (as well as Themisto) were discovered by astronomers since 2000 and none are greater than 5 miles in diameter. They are organized into "groups" of similar orbital pattern. All the objects in these groups orbit in a retrograde fashion.

Ananke Group

Name Diameter Orbital Distance Period of Revolution
Euporie*
1.5 miles
12,064,000 miles
550 days
Orthosie*
1.5 miles
12,951,000 miles
623 days
Euanthe*
2 miles
12,999,000 miles
621 days
Thyone*
2.5 miles
13,088,000 miles
627 days
Mneme*
1.5 miles
13,168,000 miles
620 days
Harpalike*
2.5 miles
13,191,000 miles
623 days
Hermippe*
2.5 miles
13,207,000 miles
634 days
Praxidike*
4.5 miles
13,217,000 miles
625 days
Thelxinoe*
1.5 miles
13,226,000 miles
628 days
Iocaste*
3 miles
13,293,000 miles
632 days
Ananke
19 miles
13,250,000 miles
611 days

Carme Group

Name Diameter Orbital Distance Period of Revolution
Arche *
2 miles
14,332,000 miles
724 days
Pasithee*
1.5 miles
14,435,000 miles
720 days
Chaldene*
2.5 miles
14,487,000 miles
724 days
Kale*
1.5 miles
14,511,000 miles
730 days
Isonoe*
2.5 miles
14,511,000 miles
726 days
Aitne*
2 miles
14,519,000 miles
730 days
Erinome*
2 miles
14,549,000 miles
728 days
Taygete*
3 miles
14,600,000 miles
732 days
Carme
25 miles
14,125,000 miles
702 days
Kalyke*
3 miles
14,739,000 miles
743 days
Eukelade*
2.5 miles
14,788,000 miles
746 days
Kallichore*
1.5 miles
15,027,000 miles
765 days

Pasiphae Group

Name Diameter Orbital Distance Period of Revolution
Helike*
2.5 miles
13,289,000 miles
635 days
Eurydome*
2 miles
14,291,000 miles
717 days
Autonoe*
2.5 miles
14,399,000 miles
763 days
Sponde*
1.5 miles
14,679,000 miles
748 days
Pasiphae
31 miles
14,765,000 miles
708 days
Megaclite*
4 miles
14,878,000 miles
753 days
Sinope
22.5 miles
14,962,000 miles
725 days
Hegemone*
2 miles
14,967,000 miles
740 days
Aoede*
2.5 miles
14,988,000 miles
761 days
Calirrhoe*
4.5 miles
15,064,000 miles
759 days
Cyllene*
1.5 miles
15,218,000 miles
738 days

In addition, 14 more objects in orbit around Jupiter have been discovered so far in 2003 that have not been assigned to any of these groups; few details are currently known about them. None are larger than 2.5 miles in diameter and all but one have retrograde orbits. The furthest out is S/2003 J2 which has an average orbit of 17,857,000 miles from Jupiter.

Likely thousands of smaller objects from a few meters to a few hundred meters also orbit Jupiter in this outer region as well. Navigating this area with an ether flyer will likely be difficult and hazardous as there are far too many objects to conclusively calculate a safe path through them.

More technical information about Jupiter's sattelites can be found at Scott Sheppard of the University of Hawaii's Jupiter satellite page: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~sheppard/satellites/jupsatdata.html

 

Io
Planet of Volcanoes
Io's most distinguishing features are her numerous active volcanoes. Io experiences extreme tectonic activity as a result of tidal forces warping the planet's crust by as much as 100 yards. Earthquakes are very common and Volcanoes spray the surface of the planet with sulphrous ash. Io has a very hot climate and temperatures are comparable to Earth's hottest deserts.
 
Io is the home of an intelligent reptilian race (the Draconians) who are well adapted to this hostile environment. They do not build any permanent structures as such buildings would quickly be destroyed by earthquakes. Instead they have a nomadic culture and live in tents and wagons which can be quickly moved if an eruption occurs nearby. While their technology is limited they do know how to make gunpowder, though they have little in the way of metals and cannot manufacture firearms. Instead they put gunpowder in ceramic pots and use them as primitive grenades.

Data:
Diameter: Surface
area: 		Surface
Gravity: 		Day: Year: Orbital
distance:
2270 miles
0.082 Earths
0.5 Earths
1.77 days
11.86 years
264,500 miles (from Jupiter)

 

Europa
The Water Planet
The surface of Europa is covered almost entirely by water, and the world's weather tends to be warm and stormy. The regions around the equator are very warm and water evaporates quickly, resulting in a region where humidity is high and the weather is cloudy and perpetually stormy. The polar regions, though also cloudy, have a less violent climate and are cooler, allowing for a more habitable environemnt.
 
The primary form of life on Europa is the Leviathan, who in its mature form resembles a giant floating island up to half a mile long. The Leviathan goes through a variety of stages of life before entering it's "floating island" stage, some of which resemble that of an eel, a shark, or a manta ray, before turning into the leviathan stage, which is a filter feeder. Many forms of surface life have adapted to living on the backs of the Leviathan.

Naturally, virtually all life on Europa is aquatic, though a few small islands exist in the Northern Hemisphere. An aquatic intelligent race exists, though they are mammalian and similar biologically to dolphins, though they have arms and hands and legs with webbed feet, and in structure are more similar to humans. They require air to breathe and have a blowhole on the back of their heads, though they can hold their breath for up to an hour.

An offshoot of this race has taken up residence on the islands and lost their dependence on water and some of their aquatic abilities, though they are still excellent swimmers and retain their webbed feet and blowholes. Since the islands themselves are small and cannot support a large population, the inhabitants rely on fishing for most of their food. This sometimes brings them into conflict with their undersea relatives, who live in the shallows and guard their territory carefully. However, the relationship between the two races is usually peaceful and the surface dwellers can make tools using fire that the sea people cannot, so a trading economy has developed between them.

Data:
Diameter: Surface
area: 		Surface
Gravity: 		Day: Year: Orbital
distance:
1961 miles
0.061 Earths
0.4 Earths
3.55 days
11.86 years
419,000 miles (from Jupiter)

 

Ganymede
Planet of the Amazons
Ganymede is a very Earthlike world, with a warm, pleasant climate, large seas, and abundant vegetation. A humanoid race lives on Ganymede that for the most part lives in a primitive, tribal existence, though a few more advaced settlements exist, that reach as far forward as a Bronze Age technology.
 
The Ganymedeans have a culture that segregates the sexes; the females, who appear largely human though their skins are quite reddish and tend to be glossy and have an almost rubbery texture, tend to be very aggressive, and periodically hunt the males in a ceremony that is both religious and procreative. When a male (who looks identical to the female except his skin is of a greenish shade rather than red) is captured, the females of the tribe will procreate with him, and then when they are finished with him they sacrifice him to their gods in a gory ritual.

When females are born they are raised normally, but when a male is born he is not allowed to remain with a tribe of females. They will care for him until their calendar indicates a certain type of holiday where hunting of males is not allowed. They will then leave the infant male to a particular wilderness holy site and abandon him there, to be picked up and 'adopted' by wandering males, who know that travelling on such holidays is safe. Aside from genetalia and skin colour males are indistinguishable from females, having a female body structure including breasts with which they must nurse the 'adopted' infants as the females refuse to do so for a male child. Ganymedean males tend to be timid and flighty, and will generally assume that outsiders are their enemies. They rarely fight, however, and prefer to flee from danger.

Data:
Diameter: Surface
area: 		Surface
Gravity: 		Day: Year: Orbital
distance:
3288 miles
0.172 Earths
0.8 Earths
7.15 days
11.86 years
669,000 miles (from Jupiter)

 

Callisto
The Lost Colony
Callisto is a cool temperate world that is covered largely by coniferous forest. Snowfall is quite common, paricularly on the side facing away from Jupiter, though both hemispheres are habitable and sustain a wide variety of life. The climate of the planet is similar to that of Northern Europe.
 
Callisto was setled aeons ago by inhabitants of the now-destroyed planet Vulcan. Since then they have lost most of their technology and have rediscovered a variety of technologies that make them roughly equivalent of seventeenth-century Earth. The purebred Vulcans occupy a subcontinent that is near the center of the Jupiter-facing hemisphere, and they are undergoing a period of expansion and exploration of their own world.

On the far side, the trackless forests are inhabited by a hairy, white hominid resembling the Yeti of Earthly legend. These hominids are at war with the Vulcans, resisting their expansion into their territory. Though they are nontechnological they nevertheless are well adapted to their environment and are fierce fighters when provoked.

As is the case in many worlds where Vulcans settled, they attempted to create a hybrid race combining Vulcan genes with those of local creatures (in this case the Yeti), in order to create a race of Vulcans that were better adapted to their new environment. However, the hybrid race (who are similar to Vulcans except that they are slightly larger, posess prodigious white head hair, have pointier ears, and have three fingers on each hand instead of two), rebelled and migrated away from the purebred Vulcan regions, settling in the plains on the land bridge between the Vulcan Subcontinent and the mainland. For a time these halfbreeds lived as nomads, domesticating several local animals and ranging widely over the steppe. Eventually they became warriors and raiders, attacking the fringes of Vulcan territory. It is because of the need for defense that the Vulcans rediscovered what technology they did, and they are now more advanced than the halfbreeds, though the halfbreeds are catching up.

Data:
Diameter: Surface
area: 		Surface
Gravity: 		Day: Year: Orbital
distance:
3000 miles
0.143 Earths
0.65 Earths
16.69 days
11.86 years
1,177,000 miles (from Jupiter)