How Many Earths Can Fit Into Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system its size has been a source of fascination for astronomers space enthusiasts for many years. If you tried to stack all the planets in our solar system on top of each other Jupiter would be at the bottom towering over everything else. But just how big is Jupiter how many Earths could fit inside it? Let’s take a closer look.

The Size of Jupiter

Jupiter is a gas giant planet which means it doesn’t have a solid surface like Earth or Mars. Instead its composition is similar to the sun consists mostly of hydrogen helium gas. Despite not having a solid surface Jupiter does have a well-defined diameter which is the measurement that scientists use to determine its size.

The diameter of Jupiter is approximately 86881 miles (139822 kilometers). To put that into perspective Earth’s diameter is only around 7917.5 miles (12742 kilometers). That means Jupiter is more than 10 times bigger than Earth in terms of diameter.

Calculating the Volume of Jupiter

To determine how many Earths could fit inside Jupiter we need to calculate its volume. Volume is a measure of the amount of space an object takes up it’s calculated by multiplying an object’s length width height. However since Jupiter doesn’t have a solid surface we can’t measure its length width height. Instead scientists use the planet’s diameter assume that it’s a perfect sphere.

The formula to calculate the volume of a perfect sphere is:

4/3 × π × r^3

Where π (pi) is a mathematical constant equal to approximately 3.14 r is the radius of the sphere.

Jupiter’s radius is approximately 43441 miles (69911 kilometers). If we substitute that value into the formula we get:

4/3 × π × (43441)^3 = 1.4313 × 10^15 cubic kilometers

That means Jupiter has a volume of approximately 1.4313 × 10^15 cubic kilometers.

How Many Earths Can Fit Inside Jupiter?

Now that we know Jupiter’s volume we can calculate how many Earths could fit inside it. Earth’s volume is approximately 1.08321 × 10^12 cubic kilometers. If we divide Jupiter’s volume by Earth’s volume we get:

1.4313 × 10^15 ÷ 1.08321 × 10^12 = 1320.45

That means you could fit approximately 1320 Earths inside Jupiter. To put that into perspective Jupiter’s volume is so large that you could fit all of the other planets in our solar system inside it still have room left over.

Conclusion

Jupiter’s size is truly colossal it’s hard for our brains to comprehend just how big it is. However by using mathematical formulas we can get a sense of just how much space this gas giant takes up. If you ever find yourself gazing up at the night sky try to imagine 1320 Earths floating inside Jupiter you’ll get a sense of just how awe-inspiring our solar system really is.