How can Jupiter have no surface? A dive into a planet so big, it could swallow 1,000 Earths

MariellaSci/Tech2025-06-2974712

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Why does Jupiter look like it has a surface – even though it doesn’t have one? – Sejal, age 7, Bangalore, India


The planet Jupiter has no solid ground – no surface, like the grass or dirt you tread here on Earth. There’s nothing to walk on, and no place to land a spaceship.

But how can that be? If Jupiter doesn’t have a surface, what does it have? How can it hold together?

Even as a professor of physics who studies all kinds of unusual phenomena, I realize the concept of a world without a surface is difficult to fathom. Yet much about Jupiter remains a mystery, even as NASA’s robotic probe Juno begins its ninth year orbiting this strange planet.

First, some facts

Jupiter, the fifth planet from the Sun, is between Mars and Saturn. It’s the largest planet in the solar system, big enough for more than 1,000 Earths to fit inside, with room to spare.

While the four inner planets of the solar system – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars – are all made of solid, rocky material, Jupiter is a gas giant with a composition similar to the Sun; it’s a roiling, stormy, wildly turbulent ball of gas. Some places on Jupiter have winds of more than 400 mph (about 640 kilometers per hour), about three times faster than a Category 5 hurricane on Earth.

A photo of the southern hemisphere of Jupiter, taken by NASA’s Juno spacecraft in 2017. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstadt/Sean Doran

Searching for solid ground

Start from the top of Earth’s atmosphere, go down about 60 miles (roughly 100 kilometers), and the air pressure continuously increases. Ultimately you hit Earth’s surface, either land or water.

Compare that with Jupiter: Start near the top of its mostly hydrogen and helium atmosphere, and like on Earth, the pressure increases the deeper you go. But on Jupiter, the pressure is immense.

As the layers of gas above you push down more and more, it’s like being at the bottom of the ocean – but instead of water, you’re surrounded by gas. The pressure becomes so intense that the human body would implode; you would be squashed.

Go down 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers), and the hot, dense gas begins to behave strangely. Eventually, the gas turns into a form of liquid hydrogen, creating what can be thought of as the largest ocean in the solar system, albeit an ocean without water.

Go down another 20,000 miles (about 32,000 kilometers), and the hydrogen becomes more like flowing liquid metal, a material so exotic that only recently, and with great difficulty, have scientists reproduced it in the laboratory. The atoms in this liquid metallic hydrogen are squeezed so tightly that its electrons are free to roam.

Keep in mind that these layer transitions are gradual, not abrupt; the transition from normal hydrogen gas to liquid hydrogen and then to metallic hydrogen happens slowly and smoothly. At no point is there a sharp boundary, solid material or surface.

An illustration of Jupiter’s interior layers. One bar is approximately equal to the air pressure at sea level on Earth. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Scary to the core

Ultimately, you’d reach the core of Jupiter. This is the central region of Jupiter’s interior, and not to be confused with a surface.

Scientists are still debating the exact nature of the core’s material. The most favored model: It’s not solid, like rock, but more like a hot, dense and possibly metallic mixture of liquid and solid.

The pressure at Jupiter’s core is so immense that it would be like 100 million Earth atmospheres pressing down on you – or two Empire State buildings on top of each square inch of your body.

But pressure wouldn’t be your only problem. A spacecraft trying to reach Jupiter’s core would be melted by the extreme heat – 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit (20,000 degrees Celsius). That’s three times hotter than the surface of the Sun.

An image taken of Jupiter by Voyager 1. Note the Great Red Spot, a storm large enough to hold three Earths. NASA/JPL

Jupiter helps Earth

Jupiter is a weird and forbidding place. But if Jupiter weren’t around, it’s possible human beings might not exist.

That’s because Jupiter acts as a shield for the inner planets of the solar system, including Earth. With its massive gravitational pull, Jupiter has altered the orbit of asteroids and comets for billions of years.

Without Jupiter’s intervention, some of that space debris could have crashed into Earth; if one had been a cataclysmic collision, it could have caused an extinction-level event. Just look at what happened to the dinosaurs.

Maybe Jupiter gave an assist to our existence, but the planet itself is extraordinarily inhospitable to life – at least, life as we know it.

The same is not the case with a Jupiter moon, Europa, perhaps our best chance to find life elsewhere in the solar system.

NASA’s Europa Clipper, a robotic probe launching in October 2024, is scheduled to do about 50 fly-bys over that moon to study its enormous underground ocean.

Could something be living in Europa’s water? Scientists won’t know for a while. Because of Jupiter’s distance from Earth, the probe won’t arrive until April 2030.


Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to [email protected]. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

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This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Benjamin Roulston, Clarkson University

Read more:

Does outer space end – or go on forever?

Unwrapping Uranus and its icy secrets: What NASA would learn from a mission to a wild world

What is a dwarf planet?

Benjamin Roulston does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Oberon

An electrifying exploration into the mythical depths of Jupiter, a planet vast enough to swallow over 10 times Earth's volume while defying our traditional understanding with its elusive surface.

2025-07-04 20:56:41 reply
Katalina

This engaging piece not only reveals the astonishing scale of Jupiter's size but also delves into its enigmatic state, illustrating how a planet巨大的远不止于天地之间,其神秘更在于何以广袤无边界吞下千颗地球的奇迹。 It inspires wonder and imagination in equal measure.

2025-07-04 20:56:58 reply
Cory

This intriguing article delves into the unfathomable vastness of Jupiter, a wondrous planet so immense that it could envelop 10 times El Asi meaning no discernible surface with its merry swirl around our own sun. Such facts challenge conventional notions and inspire wonder in anyone's imagination.

2025-07-04 20:57:12 reply
Henrik

The cosmic enigma of a giant planet like Jupiter, enveloped in its own immense expanse and able to harbor more than 10 times the volume as Earth within its 'surfaceless' depths illustrates just how diverse nature can be towards our understanding.

2025-07-05 11:11:28 reply
Kayla

An insightful exploration into the vast expanse and mysterious properties of Jupiter: how a planet capable of engulfing over一千个地球 could yet defy conventional understanding with its invisible face to us.

2025-07-05 11:11:43 reply
Clay

A fascinating exploration of Jupiter's overwhelming size that challenges our understanding: a celestial behemoth whose vastness renders its surface inscrutable from earthly eyes.

2025-07-15 08:02:24 reply
Clyde

A captivating exploration of the inexplicable: how a world as vast and enormous can elude having an identifiable surface, Jupiter proves its own unique challenges to comprehension. Its colossal size enough for one thousand Earths yet remaining indefinite upon analysis – truly riveting marvel!

2025-07-15 13:50:10 reply
Vincent

Exploring the intricate mystery of a world as vast and paradoxical, 'How can Jupiter have no apparent surface?' takes readers on an astral journey that reveals its colossus-like volume could swallow 10 full Earths. This uncanny exploration delves deeply into our solar system't known secrets.

2025-07-15 13:50:26 reply
Uriel

An intriguing exploration illuminating the vastness of Jupiter, a giant planet that could devour 1002 Earths while offering fascinating insights into why it is often mistakenly perceived as having no outer surface.

2025-07-18 14:52:43 reply
Priscilla

Impressive exploration of a giant sphere beyond our comprehension, raising thought-provoking questions on how Jupiter's immense size challenges classical conceptions about planetary surfaces—a truly cosmic dive into the realm where reality and imagination intertwine.

2025-07-18 14:52:57 reply
Nova

A thought-provoking exploration into the gigantic realm of Jupiter, a planet vast enough to consume 10 times its size in Earths but unfathomable without concrete surface realms - an enigmatic glide through cosmological mysteries.

2025-07-18 14:53:12 reply
Estelle

A captivating yet thought-provoking exploration of the enigmatic depths and vastness within Jupiter's confines, 'How can a planet as massive that could swallow over 1002 Earthlings have no surface?' is an unsettling yet thrilling acknowledgement into this remarkable cosmic wonder.

2025-07-26 06:10:47 reply

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