Current Events

  • Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather
    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong corr...Read more

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    Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather

    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong correlation between the occurrence of volcanic eruptions and extreme cold weather in Ireland over a 1200 year period. Data analyzed in this study cover the period from 431 to 1649, during which time up to 48 volcanic eruptions are identified in Greenland ice core records through deposition of volcanic sulfate in annual layers of ice. You can find the study (open access), published on 6 June 2013 in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, at http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024035/article. Find out more about how volcanoes can influence climate.
  • EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US
    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, acco...Read more

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    EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US

    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, according to the National Weather Service in Norman Oklahoma. The tornado, which remained on the ground for 40 minutes and reached 2.6 miles across (4.2 km), took the lives of 18 people including storm chasers Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras and Carl Young. For more information on the tornado, visit http://ow.ly/i/2hfDG.
  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.

Jupiter's Statistics

Planetary Symbol: Name in Roman/Greek Mythology: Jupiter/Zeus
Diameter: 142,800 km
(88,736 miles)
Rotation Period about Axis: 9.8 hours
Mass: 1,898 x10^24 kilograms (318 x Earth's) Revolution Period about the Sun: 12 years
Density: 1,326 kg/m^3 Tilt of Axis: 3.1o
Minimum Distance from Sun: 741 million km
(460 million miles)
Surface Gravity: 23.12 m/s^2 (2.64 x Earth's)
Maximum Distance from Sun: 817 million km
(508 million miles)
Distance across the Great Red Spot: 40,000 km
(24,860 miles)
Orbital Semimajor Axis: 5.20 AU (Earth=1 AU) Temperature at Cloud Tops: -150o C (-101o F)
Minimum Distance from Earth: 588 million km
(365 million miles)
Average Cloud Top Temperature (K): 123K
Rings: 1, very thin Satellites: known

Jupiter Image Archive

Comparative Planetary Statistics -- in table form

Comparative Orbital Statistics -- in table form

Actual Distance to Earth

News from NSF: A Newly Discovered Solar System Contains Scaled-Down Versions of Saturn and Jupiter (2/14/08)

Podcasts from NSF: Systemic Search

Last modified March 13, 2008 by Becca Hatheway.

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The Spring 2011 issue of The Earth Scientist is focused on modernizing seismology education. Thanks to IRIS, you can download this issue for free as a pdf. Print copies are available in our online store.

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation and NASA, our Founding Partners (the American Geophysical Union and American Geosciences Institute) as well as through Institutional, Contributing, and Affiliate Partners, individual memberships and generous donors. Thank you for your support! NASA AGU AGI NSF