As Byeol-maru drew closer to Jupiter, Hyeongseop felt increasingly overwhelmed by its sheer size. The planet was so massive it barely fit within the window, and still spilled past the edges.
“Byeoli, it’s huge… just how big is this thing?”
“Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. It weighs more than twice as much as every other planet combined. It’s big enough to fit over a thousand Earths inside it.”
Hyeongseop’s jaw dropped as he stared at the swirling bands and storms covering the surface.
“Are all those stripes made of clouds?”
“Yes. Those are giant bands of wind blowing in opposite directions, creating that pattern. And do you remember that huge red swirl over there?”
Hyeongseop’s eyes lit up.
“Oh! That’s the Great Red Spot! You said it’s a storm bigger than Earth.”
“Good memory. But today I want to show you something different. Do you know why those bands swirl so fast?”
“Um… because the wind is strong?”
“That’s part of it, but there’s a deeper reason. As huge as Jupiter is, it spins on its own axis incredibly fast. A single day there lasts only about 10 hours.”
“What? It’s way bigger than Earth, but its day is shorter?”
“Yes, it has the fastest rotation of any planet in the solar system. Spinning that fast stretches the clouds on its surface sideways into those long bands you see. And when something this massive spins that quickly, the weather naturally becomes far more violent and intense.”
Hyeongseop looked at the swirling clouds again. They felt far more dynamic than before.
As Byeol-maru slowly circled Jupiter, a thought from the asteroid belt crossed Hyeongseop’s mind.
“Byeoli, remember back at the asteroid belt, you said Jupiter’s gravity kept those rocks from forming a planet. But that gravity isn’t just a bad thing, is it?”
“Quite the opposite, actually. Jupiter’s enormous gravity also acts like a shield protecting the inner solar system. Comets and large asteroids flying in from far away often get pulled toward Jupiter and absorbed there, long before they could ever reach Earth.”
“Whoa, has Jupiter actually taken a hit for us before?”
“Back in 1994, a comet called Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke apart and crashed into Jupiter’s surface in a series of impacts. Each individual impact scar was bigger than Earth itself, it was an enormous event. It’s hard to even imagine what might have happened if that comet had headed toward Earth instead.”
Hyeongseop looked up at the massive planet again. Somehow it felt different now, knowing it held violent storms within, while also standing guard against dangers flying in from far away.
“Then I guess we should be thankful to Jupiter.”
“If you think about it that way, it’s quite the reliable neighbor.”
Byeol-maru left Jupiter behind and began picking up speed again.
“Byeoli, where to next?”
“Another giant planet, just as famous as Jupiter. This time, one wrapped in rings.”
Hyeongseop’s heart raced. He’d already heard about Saturn’s rings, but seeing them with his own eyes felt like it would be something else entirely.
(To be continued — Episode 5: Saturn, World of Ice Rings)
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