The answers to the following questions can be found on the Web. If you print out this page, it will be easier to remember which question you are trying to answer. After you have printed out the questions, go to the Planets Overview page on the NASA.gov website. Read the information to find out how the site is set up. Then find the "Jupiter" page and use it to answer the questions. In some cases, you'll have to follow links away from the Jupiter page to find a piece of information. You may also want to check out the Jet Propulsion Laboratory site for more on Jupiter and comet SL9.

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1. How many kilometers are in one AU? This distance is the mean (or average) distance between what two objects?
2. Is Jupiter a bright or a faint object in Earth's sky? What objects are brighter than Jupiter? What are some other bright objects that can be seen without a telescope from Earth?
3. What is a gas planet? Which of the planets in our solar system are gas planets?
4. What kind of material makes up Jupiter's core? What is the next layer composed of? What is ice made of in our solar system?
5. In what states (solid, liquid, or gaseous) does hydrogen exist on Jupiter? What does an observer see when looking at the surface of Jupiter from far away? Would a spacecraft be able to land on the surface of Jupiter? Why, or why not?
6. When was the spacecraft Galileo launched? When did it first encounter Jupiter? What information has the Galileo probe sent back from Jupiter?
7. What is the Great Red Spot? What does it look like, how big is it, and what causes it?
8. Does Jupiter have rings? If so, how do they compare to Saturn's rings?
9. When was Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 discovered, and by whom? When and why did the comet break into 21 fragments?
10. In what way was SL9's collision with Jupiter a "first" for planetary scientists?

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