VENUS - THE PLEASANT PARTNER

History & Naming:

Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is named for the ancient Roman goddess of love and beauty. The planet — the only planet named after a female — may have been named for the most beautiful deity of her pantheon because it shone the brightest of the five planets known to ancient astronomers.

In ancient times, Venus was once thought to be two different stars, the evening star and the morning star — that is, the ones that first appeared at sunset and sunrise. In Latin, they were respectively known as Vesper and Lucifer. In Christian times, Lucifer, or "light-bringer," became known as the name of Satan before his fall. Venus, the Roman deity of love, is a goddess. The goddess of love, beauty, and fertility is the only deity in Roman Mythology named Venus.

Venus, the planet in the solar system with Earth, is the only planet in this system named after a goddess instead of a god. Since the planet is very bright and easily visible, it has played a central part in the history of human culture since prehistoric times, unlike some of the less visible planets that we know today. The rationale for the feminine naming is speculated to be based on prehistoric cultural concepts about the planet.

The first recorded name for the planet was found in Babylonian texts from around 1600 BC. The Babylonians called the planet a feminine name, Ishtar. Ishtar was the name of their culture's personification of womanhood, their mythological goddess of fertility, sex, love, and war.
The name Ishtar was given to the planet Venus based on these prehistoric oral traditions, but it is not known why those original cultures referred to that particular planet by the feminine name associated with love and fertility.
When the Romans named the planet Venus, they followed this convention, and named the planet after their mythological goddess of love, fertility, and beauty. The Greeks also named the planet after their goddess of love, Aphrodite.

Venus, named for the roman goddess of love, is often referred to as Earth's Twin or Earth's Sister. But, Venus does not bare much of a visual resemblance to Earth, so why is it called Earth's sister?

From a strictly physical perspective Venus is roughly the same size, density and composition as our planet. It orbits at a similar distance from our Sun, and at its creation would have appeared nearly indistinguishable from Earth. As the two planets evolved over time however, they became vastly different. Ultimately, Earth's sister was molded into a desolate and unforgiving world.

Venus is easy to see with the unaided eye. In fact, it’s the brightest object in the night sky after the Moon, so it’s safe to say that humans have been aware of Venus since people have looked to the skies. In fact, there are 5 planets visible with the unaided eye: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. It’s actually impossible to say who discovered Venus, since the planet has been known since before recorded history. Humans have been on Earth for 200,000 years, so maybe that’s how long we’ve known about the planet.

But ancient astronomers didn’t really know what Venus was. They knew it was an object that moved in the sky from night to night, sometimes being obscured by the glare of the Sun. But it wasn’t until Copernicus developed his model of the Solar System that placed the Sun at the center, and the planets orbiting it. At that point, both Venus and Earth were recognized to be planets.

Basic Astrological facts about Venus:

The Venus is of feminine gender, karaka or significator of potency and desire, as relationship significator it denotes the spouse, as body part significator it governs the pelvis and reproductive organs. As per planetary cabinet it have the status of minister or advisor, its temperament is easy going and accommodating, its element is jala or water, its primary quality or guna is rajo guna or imperious and passionate, by caste it is brahmin or priest and its nature is benefic.

It is the ruler of zodiacal sign of Taurus and Libra and astrological second and seventh houses, its exaltation sign is Pisces, debilitation sign is Virgo and determent sign is Aries. It get directional strength in fourth house (north) and directional weakness in tenth house (south).  

As per planetary relationship its friends are Mercury and Saturn, it is neutral with Mars and Jupiter and its enemies are Sun and Moon. Nakshatras or Lunar mansions governed by Venus are Bharani, Purva Phalguni, and Purva Ashadha. Its period as per Vimshottari Dasa is of twenty years. It rules southeast direction and Friday among the days of the week. It governs vasant or spring season and in metals platinum and silver. Its gemstone is diamond and substitute gemstone is white sapphire and white and variegated colors are ruled by it. In food and flavors it governs things of sour taste. It represents the geometrical shape of a octagon. 

Positive key words for Venus are harmony, devotion, refinement, affection, and responsiveness. Negative key words for Venus are laziness, indifference, self-indulgence, superficial, and flirtatious. As per Numerology numbers 6, 15, 24, 33 and all those that adds up to six, are governed by it.
  

Basic Astronomical facts about Venus:

Venus is the second farthest planet from the Sun. It is the brightest thing in the sky besides the Sun and Moon. As seen from the Earth, Venus never gets more than 48 degrees away from the Sun. It has a diameter of about 12,100 kilometers. It is closest planet to Earth and its minimum distance from the Earth is from about 40 million kilometers. From Sun its distance is 108 million kilometers. Venus takes 225 days to make one orbit around the Sun and it takes 243 days to complete one rotation on its axis. Its average surface temperature is 452 °C and that makes it the hottest planet. Its average geocentric motion per day is 01°12'. Venus has no natural satellite of its own. Venus retrograde period is about 40 to 43 days and it gets and it retrograde approximately every nineteen months.
 
GENERAL INFORMATION:

Venus is the second planet from the sun. This planet is called the "twin" planet of Earth because they are so similar in size. It's diameter is about 7,520 miles (12,100kilometer), compared to the 7,926 mile (12,756 km) diameter of Earth, not that much smaller than Earth. Venus was named after the Roman goddess of love (the Greeks called her Aphrodite). Venus orbits in a nearly circular orbit around the sun. The distance from the sun varies from 67.7 million miles (108.9 million km) to about 66.8 million miles (107.5 million km). The average distance is about 67.2 million miles (108.2 million km) from the sun.

EARTH'S--- UH, TWIN:  

Venus has always been thought of to be Earth's "twin." This was before spacecraftswere sent to study Venus up close. Speculations on Venus' conditions were just guesses because of the heavy cloud cover of Venus. The speculations ranged from Venus being covered with oceans of carbonated water, to swamplands. Then the international scientific teams came along with expensive instruments, measuring the ultraviolet and radio waves from Venus. Radar was then used to determine the rotation of Venus. It was then found that Venus was not the "twin" that it was thought to be. Despite the swift moving clouds of Venus that go about 250 miles-per-hour, the planet rotates once every 243 days. Conditions on Venus are very different; it seems pretty hellish; the opposite of Earth. The surface temperature is about 864 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celcius). The clouds are made of sulfuric acid and the air is mainly composed of carbon dioxide, some nitrogen, and water vapor. The atmospheric pressure is 90 times greater than on Earth, at an estimated 1,323 pounds per square inch (9,122 kilopascals).

Location  

At nearly 108,209,000 kilometers, Venus is the second planet from the Sun, and is Earth's nearest neighbor (besides our Moon). In fact, Venus is so close, and so bright (due to the Sun's reflection off its atmosphere), that it is the only object besides our Moon that can be seen from Earth during the evening and during the day!

Rotation

Venus takes 225 Earth days to complete one orbit of the Sun. And like the other planets in our solar system, Venus rotates about its axis. However, Venus is the only planet that rotates from east to west instead of west to east. This means, that if we lived on Venus, the Sun would appear to rise in the west in the morning, and set in the east in the evening! Even stranger, Venus rotates so slowly that one day on Venus is equivalent to 117 days on Earth.

Size

At approximately 4.9 x 10²⁴ kilograms, Venus is also nearly as massive as Earth. As a result, the gravity on Venus (8.87 m/s2) is nearly the same as it is on Earth (9.81 m/s2). Additionally, scientists conclude that the structure of the planet's interior is similar to Earth's, with an iron core and a rocky mantel.

The Venusian Surface

Venus is one of the terrestrial planets -- those with solid, rocky surfaces inhabiting the inner part of our solar system.

The surface of Venus is a very desolate, barren place. Nonetheless, efforts were made to study the planet by several Soviet Venera spacecraft. These spacecraft were able to take pictures, as well as sample rocks and take other various measurements.

The rocky surface of Venus appears to have been created through volcanic activity, and is comprised of low, rolling plains. While the highest elevations of Venus rival those of Earth, these features are less abundant. In fact, the elevated areas, similar to continents here on Earth, only comprise about 8% of the total surface area, compared to 25% of the surface area on Earth.

There is also a lack of small impact craters, like those seen on the other terrestrial planets. This is due to the thickness of the Venusian atmosphere which prevents all but the largest meteors from reaching the surface.

The Venusian Atmosphere

By now you may be asking yourself "what's the catch?" After all, you have undoubtedly heard about NASA's plan to send a man to Mars, and how someday we could actually create a colony on that planet. What about Venus? It is closer to us than Mars, more similar in size, and has similar gravity!

The answer to this question lies in Venus' atmosphere. The Venusian atmosphere is very different than the atmosphere on Earth, and would have devastating effects on humans if we attempted to live there.

The Venusian atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide (~96.5%), while only containing about 3.5% nitrogen. This is in stark contrast to the Earths atmosphere, which contains primarily nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%). Clearly, we would not be able to breath the air on Venus. Moreover, the effect the atmosphere has on the rest of the planet is dramatic.

Global Warming on Venus

A great cause for concern on Earth is global warming, specifically the emission of "greenhouse gases" into our atmosphere. As these gases accumulate in our atmosphere, they trap heat near the surface, causing our planet to heat up. Because Venus has such a dense atmosphere, this same effect has occurred, though to a much higher degree. Global warming on Venus has caused the surface temperature to rise to nearly 900⁰ F, enough to melt lead.

Living Conditions on Venus

As destructive as the surface temperature of Venus is, just as troubling is the immense pressure you would feel standing on the surface. The weight of the atmosphere is 90 times greater than that on earth -- the same pressure we would feel if submerged under 3,000 feet of water. This pressure is so high, that when the Venera spacecrafts landed, they only had a few moments to take data before they were crushed and melted. Ultimately, Venus appears as a visual beauty in the night sky, but it will have to be admired form afar. As the heat and pressure that characterize the surface of the planet make it unfit for life.

OBSERVATIONS OF VENUS

Venus comes the closest to the Earth at only 25.7 million miles (41.4 million km) away from Earth. Due to the short distance, Venus can be seen on Earth in the night or early morning sky, depending on the time of the year. When visible, Venus is the brightest astronomical body in the sky. Sometimes it is the first planet or star seen in the western evening sky. Other times, it is the last planet or star seen in the eastern sky in the morning. Venus can also be seen in broad daylight when it is near its brightest point. Ancient Greek astronomers called the Venus that appeared in the morning Phosphorus, and the one that appeared at night, Hesperus. Later, they found out they were the same planet. Galileo discovered Venus also had phases like the moon. Phases are caused by the varying ability of the observers on Earth to see the side of Venus that illuminated by the sun. Depending on the varying line of sight from the Earth to Venus, sometimes you can see all of Venus, half a circle, crescent, a sliver or none of Venus.

OBSERVATIONS BY SPACECRAFT AND PROBES

Since the early astronomers, international scientific teams and unmanned spacecrafthave undertaken the study of Venus with expensive instruments. The first spacecraft to study Venus up close was the U.S. Mariner 2. It flew by the planet on Dec. 14, 1962 after traveling for 3 1/2 months and measured various conditions on and near Venus. Later, two unmanned Soviet spacecrafts, Venera 2 and Venera 3 did similar exploration, a flyby and a not so similar crash-into (Venera 3). Then came a series of spacecraft from both the Soviet Union and the U.S.A.. The Soviet Venera 4 capsule was parachuted down into the atmosphere of Venus on Oct. 18, 1967. The next day the U.S. Mariner 5 passed within 2,480 miles of Venus. A few years later, the Venera 7 landed on Venus on Dec. 15, 1970, and the Venera 9 and Venera 10, also followed and landed on Venus. The U.S., in December 1978 sent the crafts Pioneer Venus 1 to orbit the planet and Pioneer Venus 2, which entered Venus atmosphere. More Soviet Venera crafts, the 11 and 12 also landed on Venus in December 1978, and the 13 and 14 in March. In 1990, many years later the U.S. spacecraft, the Magellan, began orbiting Venus on Aug. 10. Magellan was equipped with modern instruments that provided radar images detailed enough to make maps.

The Venus in Hindu Mythology  

Venus is the guru of the demons, he can raise the dead, with the help of the Sanjivini Vidya, who fall in battles with the gods. He is immensely astute, and, a true Brahmana, he is an expert in every form of learning. Venus has a medium-sized well-nourished body, long hands, prominent shouldets, a broad chest, and dark, short, curly hair. Overflowing with virility, he is intelligent, handsome, and sensuous. Venus is the son of the Rishi Bhrigu and his wife Puloma. Bhrigu Rishi was, like Angiras Rishi, (father of Jupiter) born directly from Brahma's semen, which means that Venus and Jupiter, two implacable adversaries, are first cousins. One day, when Bhrigu was absorbed in deep meditation, Venus was near him and was appreciating the beauty of the nature, at that time the beautiful Apsaras Vishvachi was passing by, seeing her boy's heart with delight and he followed her to heaven. They fell in love at first sight of each other, and to fulfill his desire Venus created a hut in a small corner of heaven. Then they indulged in lovemaking of the many ages. When Venus's good karmas had finally been used up, he fell from heaven down to the Moon, where his soul reached the earth through rain that fell on a rice paddy. Entering the semen of a Brahmana who ate that rice, and then entering the womb of that Brahmana's wife via his semen, Venus was reborn in that Brahmana family. He then led an austere life on Mount Meru for long, until his path again crossed that of Vishvachi, who had been cursed to live as a female deer. He fell in love with the deer and mated with her; the result was a human child. The Brahmana who had been Venus died of snake bite not long after, and then, reborn as prince of Madra, ruled that country for many years. Afterwards he took many other births, including one as a bamboo forest and another as a python, until at last he was born as the son of a Seer living on the banks of the river. His original body, meanwhile, had long ago dropped to the earth. After many thousand years, Bhrigu opened his eyes to find not his living son but a worn-out body lying nearby. In his fury over his son's death, he was about to curse Yama, the god of death, when Yama appeared before him and asked him not to curse him, because his son fell into this state because of his own actions and he is now performing penance on the banks of the river Ganga. Yama then revived the body of Venus; Bhrigu thereupon told the boy his past lives and showed him the road to spiritual success. Venus set out to gain the favor of Lord Shiva and after worshipping him for five thousand years Lord Shiva appeared and blessed Venus and taught him the Sanjivini Vidya. In addition, Shiva named Venus the best of the planets and told him that his rise in the sky would inaugurate the performance of all auspicious rituals. It is for this reason that marriages are performed only when Venus is rising in the sky. Venus himself has enjoyed several wives and has been blessed with daughters and sons. 

BODY PARTS, FUNCTION  

Ruling over Taurus and Libra, Venus helps regulate the throat, thyroid and kidneys. Venus rules vitamin E, Niacin and Copper. Venus also has dominion over half the circulatory system, the venous supply and it is concerned with skin.

DISEASES GOVERNED VENUS: 

Venus play a part in diseases of the blood. Venus is also valuable in circulatory ailments, such as phlebitis, embolisms, thrombosis and dilation of the vessels of the arterial and venous systems and it keeps the body supplied with a pure source of oxygen. Venus also governs slack muscle tone in the body. Mars represents tight, healthy muscles, whereas Venus, its opposite, indicates a potential lack of tone or tightness, soft or weakened muscles. All the disease related to throats and neck like vocal cords, tonsillitis, diphtheria, laryngitis, swelling in the neck, mumps, and thrush or fungus infection of the mouth or throat. It governs thyroid related problems, various diseases of the kidney, as well as skin ailments, Sugar or diabetes, urine and semen related problems. There can be a tendency to overeat or eat rich foods, with afflicted Venus that put on weight and edema of the hands and feet or an inability to lose weight.

PROFESSIONS GOVERNED BY VENUS:


Venus governs all professions and career related to art, entertainment, beauty products, luxury, and costly, items, food items especially sweets. Venus denotes all those related to acting, drama, film industry, music, dance, singing, instrumental music, drawings, painting, sculpture, photography, ornamenting, perfumery, art, decoration, jewelers, precious stones, luxury items, income-tax, revenue, finance department, bank officials, judge, wool dealer, barbers, hair stylists, wig maker, tailor, dressmaker, women's apparel, fancy goods dealers, hotels, restaurants, bakery, cooks, butlers, bars, dealers in dairy farms, ice cream, sugar, milk, confectionary, paints, dyes, acids, petrol, oils, fertilizer, glass, plastic, perfumeries, soap, marriage broker, registrar of marriages, tannery, hide, yarn, leather goods, tobacco, veterinary doctors, chemical and drugs manufacturers and dealers of automobiles and vehicles.

Venus : Shukra

Venus relates to : Marriage, Happiness in Marriage, Arts, Material gains and inclinations, Good mediators, Rules : Throat,Eyes,all illness due to over eating. Debilitated Venus in Water Sign in the 12 th house gives alcohol addiction creates doubts in the Character, creates Skin disease. If Sun, Mars & Venus are debilitated the during childbirth is with Surgical assistance. Conjunction of Venus-Mars relates to Love affair. Debilitated Venus causes Leprosy etc.
  

Plants and Herbs 

- Herbs like Daisy, alkanet, dog rose, elderberry, feverfew, lady mantle, mother wort, pennyroyal, plantain, tansy, thyme,uvaursi, vervain, violet, periwinkle, yarrow. 

- Shrubs like alder, camelia, ephedra, fuchsia, raspberry. 

- Trees like birch tree, guaiacum, peach tree, sycamore, mango tree, neem tree., cherry.

Characteristics
It rules over desires that incite us to learn. Mars causes the falls and Venus helps to recover from falling. A native with strong Venus personify noble qualities. When associated with sun, it gives political power, with moon it  gives all form of fine arts which attracts others or sailing and with Saturn native works hard, sincerely and with single aim to achieve success in any field. Manufacturing or trading of cosmetics or other ornamental items, music or cultural organisers, customs, imports or exports, gems, trade in gold, foeign representatives, navy,  railways etc are few professions related to venus planet.

The Mantras for Venus:

Beej Mantra of Venus:	Om dram dreem droum sah shukraya namah
Venus stotra:	Hima kunda mrinalaabham daityanam paramam gurum sarva shastra pravatkaram bhargavam pranamaamayaham
Gayatri Mantra of Venus:	Om aswadhwajaaya vidmahae dhanur hastaaya dheemahi tanno shukra prachodayaat.

Remedies for Venus which are performed if Venus is not well placed in the horoscope:

1.    Worshiping the ruling deity of the Venus, Goddess Shakti or Durga.

2.    Recitation of Durga chalisa.

3.    Reciting of Venus Mantras.

4.    Charity: Donate perfumes, fancy items and white sandal wood on Fridays to married females.

5.    Fasting: On Fridays.

6.    Pooja: Santoshi mata pooja.

7.    Rudraksh: Wear six mukhi (six faced) Rudraksh.  

JUPITER - THE CHILDREN

JUPITER'S NAME

Jupiter was named after the Roman primary god, Jupiter. 

Who discovered Jupiter, the largest of the planets in the solar system?

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. It is also one of the brighter objects in the night sky. No one knows for sure who discovered Jupiter, but we know the ancient Greeks named him after the god, Zeus.

There actually is no known single person who “discovered” Jupiter.  It will never be known who discovered Jupiter. It has certainly been known since historical times and it would certainly have been seen by the earliest of humans as they looked up into the skies. There is no single person who is credited with the discovery of Jupiter.  

In the early days of mankind, the planets were often tracked with startling accuracy. Ancient civilizations were able to distinguish the stars from the planets, because the planets moved from night to night. They were designated as “wanderers” by Chinese and Arabic astronomers. In fact, Jupiter’s name originates from the Roman God of Jupiter.

The Greeks named the planet first after Zeus, and this was then translated into the Roman’s name for Zeus, "Jupiter." Both the Greeks and the Romans recognized that, just as Jupiter was the King of all Gods, the planet Jupiter was the King of all planets.

Knowledge of the planets predates telescopes, when ancient civilizations realized that the planets were separate entities from the stars. Jupiter is actually the third brightest object in the sky, so it’s plausible that humans observed it before organized science, or even civilization, was formed.

Jupiter was the king of the gods in Roman mythology — a fitting name for the largest of the planets. In a similar manner, the ancient Greeks named the planet after Zeus, the king of the Greek pantheon.

The Romans believed that the planets—bigger and more visible than the stars—exposed secrets about their Gods. However, although ancient civilizations and humans could see Jupiter and they understood that it was in some way different than the stars, man did not really understand that it was a planet until the 16th century.

Jupiter has always inspired curiosity. It is one of only five planets that you can see without the assistance of a telescope on a clear night. It has a storm—the Great Red Spot—that has been raging since at least the 17th century. Composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, the planet also has over sixty moons that circle it. One of Jupiter’s moons even appears to have ice on its surface. It has even been explored by spaceships, such as the Pioneer mission. Yet, who was the first person to discover this large planet? Who was the first person that led to the latter curiosity for this great giant?

Jupiter is one of the five planets that can be seen in the night sky without using a telescope or binoculars. The planet Jupiter has been known since ancient times and was observed for thousands of years by the people of many different cultures. Galileo was the first to observe Jupiter with a telescope, as Jupiter can be seen with the naked eye, the ancients probably the ones who discovered it. Jupiter can be seen from planet earth, so it is hard to tell who actually saw it first! We will never know when Jupiter was discovered. 

As it can be the third brightest thing in the night sky, it must have been known to the ancients. It's impossible to know. It's always been visible in the sky to the naked eye as long as man is known to have existed. The planet Jupiter is easily visible to the unaided human eye at night. As such it has been known to man since ancient times and therefore there is no attributed discoverer. The discoverer of Jupiter is not known since it visible with the naked eye.  

The fact that it is a planet and not a star was known in ancient times by the Chinese and Arabic astronomers. They were called 'wanderers' because they did not stay fixed like stars.
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in the Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Together, these four planets are sometimes referred to as the Jovian or outer planets. The planet was known by astronomers of ancient times, and was associated with the mythology and religious beliefs of many cultures.

The Romans named the planet after the Roman god Jupiter. When viewed from Earth, Jupiter can reach an apparent magnitude of −2.94, making it on average the third-brightest object in the night skyafter the Moon and Venus. (Mars can briefly match Jupiter's brightness at certain points in its orbit.)

Jupiter is primarily composed of hydrogen with a quarter of its mass being helium, although helium only comprises about a tenth of the number of molecules. It may also have a rocky core of heavier elements, but like the other gas giants, Jupiter lacks a well-defined solid surface. Because of its rapid rotation, the planet's shape is that of an oblate spheroid (it possesses a slight but noticeable bulge around the equator). The outer atmosphere is visibly segregated into several bands at different latitudes, resulting in turbulence and storms along their interacting boundaries. A prominent result is the Great Red Spot, a giant storm that is known to have existed since at least the 17th century when it was first seen by telescope. Surrounding Jupiter is a faint planetary ring system and a powerful magnetosphere. There are also at least 67 moons, including the four large moons called the Galilean moons that were first discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Ganymede, the largest of these moons, has a diameter greater than that of the planet Mercury.

Jupiter has been explored on several occasions by robotic spacecraft, most notably during the early Pioneerand Voyager flyby missions and later by the Galileo orbiter. The most recent probe to visit Jupiter was thePluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft in late February 2007. The probe used the gravity from Jupiter to increase its speed. Future targets for exploration in the Jovian system include the possible ice-covered liquid ocean on the moon Europa.

The most famous feature of Jupiter is the Great Red Spot. This violent storm has been watched from Earth since the 1600's. But it wasn't until the 1930's that we knew what Jupiter was made of. Astronomer Rupert Wildt researched the planet and found theatmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium.Beginning in 1973, the United States sent four spacecraft to observe this giant planet. Pioneer 10 and 11, along with Voyager I and II, sailed past Jupiter. They gathered many images that we still see today.

Jupiter's moons are too! Galileo discovered four of the larger moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in 1610. Most of the other moons were found by the Voyager spacecraft during its flyby.

Jupiter helped revolutionize the way we saw the universe and ourselves in 1610, when Galileo discovered Jupiter's four large moons — Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, now known as the Galilean moons. This was the first time celestial bodies were not seen circling the Earth, major support of the Copernican view that Earth was not the center of the universe.

Basic Astronomical facts about Jupiter:

Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System. It has a diameter of about 142,800 kilometers. Its closest distance from the Earth is about 588 million kilometers. From Sun its average distance is 778 million kilometers. Jupiter takes 11.86 years to make one orbit around the Sun and it takes 9 hours and 55 minutes to complete one rotation on its axis. Its average surface temperature is about -148°C. Its average geocentric motion per day is 00°04'59". Jupiter have 63 natural satellite of its own out of those Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are well known. Jupiter retrogrades for about 110 days per year.

Physical Characteristics of the Planet Jupiter

Jupiter is the most massive planet in our solar system, more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined, and had it been about 80 times more massive, it would have actually become a star instead of a planet. Its atmosphere resembles that of the sun, made up mostly of hydrogen and helium, and with four large moons and many smaller moons in orbit around it, Jupiter by itself forms a kind of miniature solar system. All told, the immense volume of Jupiter could hold more than 1,300 Earths.

The colorful bands of Jupiter are arranged in dark belts and light zones created by strong east-west winds in the planet's upper atmosphere traveling more than 400 miles per hour (640 kilometers per hour). The white clouds in the zones are made of crystals of frozen ammonia, while darker clouds of other chemicals are found in the belts. At the deepest visible levels are blue clouds.

The most extraordinary feature on Jupiter is undoubtedly the Great Red Spot, a giant hurricane-like storm seen for more than 300 years. At its widest, the Great Red Spot is three times the diameter of the Earth, and its edge spins counterclockwise around its center at a speed of about 225 miles (360 kilometers) per hour. The color of the storm, which usually varies from brick red to slightly brown, may come from small amounts of sulfur and phosphorus in the ammonia crystals in Jupiter's clouds. Every now and again, the Great Red Spot seems to fade entirely.

Jupiter's gargantuan magnetic field is the strongest of all the planets in the solar system at nearly 20,000 times the strength of Earth's. It traps electrically charged particles in an intense belt of electrons and other electrically charged particles that regularly blasts the planet's moons and rings with a level of radiation more than 1,000 times the lethal level for a human, damaging even heavily-shielded spacecraft such as NASA's Galileo probe. The magnetosphere of Jupiter, which is comprised of these fields and particles, swells out some 600,000 to 2 million miles (1 million to 3 million kilometers) toward the sun and tapers to a tail extending more than 600 million miles (1 billion kilometers) behind Jupiter.

Jupiter spins faster than any other planet, taking a little under 10 hours to complete a turn on its axis, compared with 24 hours for Earth. This rapid spin actually makes Jupiter bulge at the equator and flatten at the poles, making the planet about 7 percent wider at the equator than at the poles.

Jupiter broadcasts radio waves strong enough to detect on Earth. These come in two forms — strong bursts that occur when Io, the closest of Jupiter's large moons, passes through certain regions of Jupiter's magnetic field, and continuous radiation from Jupiter's surface and high-energy particles in its radiation belts.

Jupiter's Orbital Characteristics

Composition & Structure

• Atmospheric composition (by volume)

89.8 percent molecular hydrogen, 10.2 percent helium, minor amounts of methane, ammonia, hydrogen deuteride, ethane, water, ammonia ice aerosols, water ice aerosols, ammonia hydrosulfide aerosols

• Magnetic Field

Nearly 20,000 times stronger than Earth's

• Chemical composition

A dense core of uncertain composition, surrounded by a helium-rich layer of fluid metallic hydrogen, wrapped up in an atmosphere primarily made of molecular hydrogen.

• Internal structure

A core less than 10 times Earth's mass (Tristan Guillot, "Interiors of Giant Planets Inside and Outside the Solar System." Science Vol. 286 (5437), p. 72-77, October 1, 1999.), surrounded by a layer of fluid metallic hydrogen extending out to 80 to 90 percent of the diameter of the planet, enclosed in an atmosphere mostly made of gaseous and liquid hydrogen.

Orbit & Rotation

Average Distance from the Sun

English: 483,682,810 miles

Metric: 778,412,020 km

By Comparison: 5.203 times that of Earth

Perihelion (closest)

English: 460,276,100 miles

Metric: 740,742,600 km

By Comparison: 5.036 times that of Earth

Aphelion (farthest)

English: 507,089,500 miles

Metric: 816,081,400 km

By Comparison: 5.366 times that of Earth

(Source: NASA.)

Jupiter's Moons

Jupiter has at least 63 moons, which are often named after the Roman god's many lovers. The four largest moons of Jupiter, now called Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, were discovered by Galileo Galilei himself, and are appropriately known today as the Galilean satellites.
Ganymede is the largest moon in our solar system, larger even than Mercury and Pluto. It is also the only moon known to have its own magnetic field.

Io is the most volcanically active body in our solar system. The sulfur these volcanoes spew out gives Io a blotted yellow-orange appearance that is often compared to a pepperoni pizza. As Io orbits Jupiter, the planet's immense gravity causes 'tides' in Io's solid surface that rise 300 feet (100 meters) high, generating enough heat for volcanic activity.

The frozen crust of Europa is made up mostly of water ice, and it might hide a liquid ocean holding twice as much water as Earth does. Icy oceans might also exist beneath the crusts of Callisto and Ganymede.

Callisto has the lowest reflectivity, or albedo, of the four Galilean moons. This suggests that its surface might be composed of dark, colorless rock.

Jupiter's Rings

Jupiter's three rings came as a surprise when NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft discovered them around the planet's equator in 1979. Each are much fainter than Saturn's rings.

The main ring is flattened. It is about 20 miles (30 kilometers) thick and more than 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) wide.The inner cloud-like ring, called the halo, is roughly 12,000 miles (20,000 kilometers) thick. The halo extends halfway from the main ring down to the planet's cloudtops and expands by interaction with Jupiter's magnetic field. Both the main ring and halo are composed of small, dark particles.

The third ring, known as the gossamer ring because of its transparency, is actually three rings of microscopic debris from three of Jupiter's moons, Amalthea, Thebe and Adrastea. It is probably made up of dust particles less than 10 microns in diameter, about the same size of the particles found in cigarette smoke, and extends to an outer edge of about 80,000 miles (129,000 kilometers) from the center of the planet and inward to about 18,600 miles (30,000 kilometers).

Research & Exploration

Seven missions have flown by Jupiter — Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Ulysses, Cassini and New Horizons — while another, NASA's Galileo, actually orbited the planet.


Pioneer 10 revealed how dangerous Jupiter's radiation belt is, while Pioneer 11 provided data on the Great Red Spot and close-up pictures of its polar region. Voyager 1 and 2 helped astronomers create the first detailed maps of the Galilean satellites, discovered Jupiter's rings, revealed sulfur volcanoes on Io, and saw lightning in Jupiter's clouds. Ulysses discovered the solar wind has a much greater impact on Jupiter's magnetosphere than before suggested. New Horizons took close-up pictures of Jupiter and its largest moons.

In 1995, Galileo sent a probe plunging towards Jupiter, making the first direct measurements of its atmosphere and measuring the amount of water and other chemicals there. When Galileo ran low on fuel, the craft was intentionally crashed into Jupiter's atmosphere to avoid any risk of it slamming into and contaminating Europa, which might have an ocean below its surface capable of supporting life.

NASA is now planning a mission named Juno scheduled to launch in 2011. It will study Jupiter from a polar orbit to figure out how it and the rest of the solar system formed, which could shed light on how alien planetary systems might have developed.

Jupiter's Gravitational Impact on the Solar System

As the most massive body in the solar system after the sun, the pull of Jupiter's gravity has helped shape the fate of our system. It might have violently hurled Neptune and Uranus outward. Jupiter, along with Saturn, might have slung a barrage of debris toward the inner planets early in the system's history. It might even nowadays help keep asteroids from bombarding Earth, and recent events certainly have shown that it can absorb potentially deadly impacts.

Currently, Jupiter's gravitational field influences numerous asteroids that have clustered into the regions preceding and following Jupiter in its orbit around the sun. These are known as the Trojan asteroids, after three large asteroids there, Agamemnon, Achilles and Hector, names drawn from the Iliad, Homer's epic about the Trojan War.

Possibility of Life on the Planet Jupiter

If one were to dive into Jupiter's atmosphere, one would discover it to grow warmer with depth, reaching room temperature, or 70 degrees F (21 degrees C), at an altitude where the atmospheric pressure is about 10 times as great as it is on Earth. Scientists have conjectured that if Jupiter has any form of life, it might dwell at this level, and would have to be airborne. However, researchers have found no evidence for life on Jupiter.

Understanding of the Solar System

In the 16th century, scientists began to doubt the idea that Earth was at the center of the solar system. Nicolaus Copernicus created a new heliocentricmodel for the Solar System, which showed the Earth as revolving around the Sun. This caused a controversy with the church, who supported the idea that the universe revolved around Earth.

However, Galileo proved Copernicus’ theory when he observed Jupiter’s moons orbiting the planet using his telescope. Previously, all objects were thought to orbit Earth. If Jupiter’s moons orbited Jupiter, this disproved the notion that Earth was at the center of the universe. Galileo’s observation of Jupiter’s moons was the first known recording of them, and Galileo was the first individual to observe Jupiter using a telescope.

Galileo published his observations about Jupiter in Sidereus Nuncius in 1610, along with his observations about the Moon, and the Milky Way. In this famous book, Galileo sketched sixty-four distinct observations of Jupiter’s moons from January 7, 1610 to March 2, 1610. He calculated the time that he observed the planet and her moons by the hour and minute. Importantly, Galileo was able to realize that the moons weren’t stars—but rather, separate entities circling Jupiter. He made this realization by noting that they weren’t changing position like they should from day to day, if they had been stars.

After Galileo, there were several other astronomers who studied Jupiter and helped discover all that is known today. In the 1660s, Cassini discovered spots and bands on the planet using a telescope. Further, he realized that Jupiter was flat at the poles, and he estimated the rotation period of Jupiter. Cassini further calculated tables to determine the motion of Jupiter’s moons. The Great Red Spot may have been discovered by Cassini as well, although this is disputed. Certainly, by 1831, the spot was known. Heinrich Schwabe drew details of the spot in his sketches. Thus, although the identity of the first individual that observed Jupiter is unknown, Galileo was the first astronomer to truly examine the planet, and certainly each scientist who has studied the planet has helped clarify some of the mysteries of the Great Red Giant. 

Jupiter has been known since very ancient times, so how did Jupiter get its name? While it had many names throughout history, the Roman empire had the greatest influence over a wide portion of modern society, so the names accorded to planets by the Romans still hold sway over astronomy. The Romans named the planet after their king of gods, Jupiter, who was also the god of the sky and of thunder. Why choose to name the planet Jupiter? It was the largest object in the sky; therefore the most powerful; therefore Jupiter.

In the Roman pantheon, Jupiter began as the sky god, concerned mainly with wine festivals and associated with the sacred oak of the Capitol. Eventually, he was attributed the spoils of war and became a god of war. It was believed that he caused the armies to stand strong and be victorious. He was the main witness in all oaths. Jupiter was the central god in the Capitoline Triad along with Juno and Minerva. He remained Rome’s chief official deity throughout the Republican and Imperial eras, until the pagan system was replaced by Christianity. Jupiter granted Rome supremacy because he was ”the fount of the auspices upon which the relationship of the city with the gods rested”. He personified the divine authority of Rome’s highest offices, internal organization, and external relations: his image in the Republican and Imperial Capitol bore regalia associated with Rome’s ancient kings and the highest consular and Imperial honors. Roman consuls swore their oath of office in Jupiter’s name. To thank him for his help, and to secure his continued support, they offered him a white, castrated ox with gilded horns.

It is common practice for a planet, moon, and many other celestial bodies to get their names from Greek or Roman mythology as well as derive their astronomical symbol from that particular personality. Some examples are Neptune the God of the Sea, Mars the God of War, Mercury the Messenger, Saturn the God of Time and father of Jupiter, Uranus the father of Saturn, Venus the Goddess of Love, and Earth, well, Earth is the only planet to buck the Greco-Roman tradition.

The answer to how did Jupiter get its name is very simple. If you delve into the planet much deeper, you will find that the planet itself is a mystery that scientists are still trying to unravel.

Jupiter is the fifth and largest planet in our solar system. This gas giant has a thick atmosphere, 39 known moons, and a dark, barely-visible ring. Its most prominent features are bands across its latitudes and a great red spot (which is a storm). 

Jupiter is composed mostly of gas. This enormous planet radiates twice as much heat as it absorbs from the Sun. It also has an extremely strong magnetic field. It is slightly flattened at its poles and it bulges out a bit at the equator. 

SIZE 
Jupiter's diameter is 88,700 miles (142,800 km). This is a little more than 11 times the diameter of the Earth. Jupiter is so big that all the other planets in our Solar System could fit inside Jupiter (if it were hollow). 

MASS AND GRAVITY
Jupiter's mass is about 1.9 x 10²⁷ kg. Although this is 318 times the mass of the Earth, the gravity on Jupiter is only 254% of the gravity on Earth. This is because Jupiter is such a large planet (and the gravitational force a planet exerts upon an object at the planet's surface is proportional to its mass and to the inverse of its radius squared). 

A 100-pound person would weigh 254 pounds on Jupiter. 

LENGTH OF A DAY AND YEAR ON JUPITER
It takes Jupiter 9.8 Earth hours to revolve around its axis (this is a Jovian day). It takes 11.86 Earth years for Jupiter to orbit the sun once (this is a Jovian year). 

Jupiter is made up of gases and liquids, so as it rotates, its parts do not rotate at exactly the same velocity. It rotates very rapidly, and this spinning action gives Jupiter a large equatorial bulge; it looks like a slightly-flattened sphere (it is oblate) 

JUPITER'S ORBIT
Jupiter is 5.2 times farther from than the Sun than the Earth. On average, it is 480,000,000 miles (778,330,000 km) from the sun. 

At aphelion (the place in its orbit where Jupiter is farthest from the Sun), Jupiter is 815,700,000 km from the Sun. At perihelion (the place in its orbit where Jupiter is closest to the Sun), Jupiter is 749,900,000 km from the Sun.

Jupiter has no seasons. Seasons are caused by a tilted axis, and Jupiter's axis is only tilted 3 degrees (not enough to cause seasons). 

JUPITER'S MOONS
Jupiter has four large moons and dozens of smaller ones (there are 39 moons known so far). More moons are being found all the time. 

Galileo first discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter, Io (which is volcanically active), Europa, Ganymede (the largest of Jupiter's moons, pictured at the left), and Callisto in 1610; these moons are known as the Galilean moons. Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System. 

RINGS
Jupiter has faint, dark rings composed of tiny rock fragments and dust. These rings were discovered by NASA's Voyager 1 in 1980. The rings were investigated further when Voyager 2 flew by Jupiter. The rings have an albedo of 0.05; they do not reflect very much of the sunlight that they receive. 

For more information on Jupiter's rings, click here. 

TEMPERATURE RANGE
The cloud-tops average 120 K = -153°C = -244°F. 

DISCOVERY OF JUPITER
Jupiter has been well-known since ancient times. It is the third-brightest object in the night sky (after the moon and Venus). 

COMET SL9 HITS JUPITER

Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL-9) was a short-period comet that was discovered by Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker and David H. Levy. As the comet passed close by Jupiter, Jupiter's gravitational forces broke the comet apart . Fragments of the comet collided with Jupiter for six days during July, 1994, causing huge fireballs in Jupiter's atmosphere that were visible from Earth.

SPACECRAFT VISITS
Jupiter was first visited by NASA's Pioneer 10, which flew by Jupiter in 1973. Later fly-by visits included: Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Ulysses, and Galileo.

The Jupiter in Hindu Mythology
Jupiter or Brihaspati was one of the eight sons of Angiras, (son of Brahma) and Shraddha. After receiving initial knowledge from his father, Jupiter left his home in quest for spiritual knowledge and meditated for thousands of years, his penances earned him a place as guru or teacher to the demigods. His work was to guide then and advancing their cause by thwarting the designs of the Asuras. 

Once Bhrigu or Venus, the guru of the devils went to the Himalaya to worship Lord Shiva for obtaining means to conquer and destroy the demigods. Meanwhile sensing an opportunity, Indra, the king of demigods sent his daughter Jayanti to Venus to obtain whatever he receives from Lord Shiva by deceit. She stayed with Venus for many years as his disciple until he obtained the boon from Shiva. Then, when he was about to return to the devils, Jayanti requested him to accepted her as wife. He agreed to be her husband but for only ten years and during this period they would be alone. 

When Jupiter came to know about this he made a plan and disguised himself as Venus he went to live with the Asuras and during these ten years he succeeded in removing hatred and factionalism from them. When Venus returned home the Asuras got confused seeing two identical gurus and they declared that their real teacher was the one who had been teaching them for the past years. 

The real Venus, got angry and left cursing them that they would soon be destroyed. Shortly thereafter Jupiter resumed his real form and returned to heaven. The Asuras, were now left without a guru and guide approached the real Venus and begged his pardon. He relented and again became their guru, but his curse had its effect, and for many ages the Asuras were too weak to threaten the gods.

Basic Astrological facts about Jupiter:
The Jupiter is of masculine gender, karaka or significator of knowledge and fortune, as relationship significator it denotes children, as body part significator it governs the abdomen. As per planetary cabinet it have the status of minister or advisor, its temperament is mild, benign and soft hearted, its element is aakaash or ether element, its primary quality or guna is sattva or serenity, by caste it is brahmin or priest and its nature is benefic.

It is the ruler of zodiacal sign of Sagittarius and Pisces and astrological ninth and twelfth houses, its exaltation sign is Cancer, debilitation sign is Capricorn and determent sign is Gemini. It get directional strength in first house (east) and directional weakness in seventh house (west). As per planetary relationship its friends are Sun, Moon and Mars, it is neutral with Saturn and its enemies are Mercury and Venus. Nakshatras or Lunar mansions governed by Jupiter are Punarvasu, Vishakha and Purva Bhadrapada. Its period as per Vimshottari Dasa is of sixteen years. It rules northeast direction and Thursday among the days of the week. It governs hemant or pre-winter season and in metals gold. Its gemstone is yellow sapphire and substitute gemstones are topaz and citrine and yellow is the color ruled by it. In food and flavors it governs things of sweet taste. It represents the geometrical shape of a ellipse. Positive key words for Jupiter are expansion, opportunity, understanding, optimism, and enthusiasm. Negative key words for Jupiter are extravagance, bigotry, indulgence, fanaticism, and smugness. As per Numerology numbers 3, 12, 21, 30 and all those that adds up to three, are governed by it.

Body parts, function and diseases governed Jupiter:
Jupiter rules growth and expansion and in medical terms Jupiterian expansion means overeating and lack of control. Jupiter also indicate swelling, abnormal expansion or too much of something. This inculdes all types of tumer. Jupiter has dominion over the liver and all diseases related with it including cirrhosis and hepatitis. Jupiter also rules the fats of the body, their process of breaking down through enzyme reaction and their proper utilization. It rules the hip and thigh region, gout and rheumatism, sugar problems. Jupiter rules Vitamins B-6, biotin, cholin, inositol, pangamic acid, chromium, manganese and zinc.

Professions governed by Jupiter:
Any profession or employment that requires or is related to Spirituality, Religion, Wealth, Law, Voyages or Long Journeys. Vocations: Lawyers, Clergymen, Judges, Wholesale Grocers, Aldermen, Appraisers, Bond Salesmen, Cashiers, Capitalists, Financiers, Jockeys, Horse Trainers, Racing Stable Owners and Workers, Sporting Goods Manufacturers and Dealers, Shoe Manufacturers and Dealers, Shoe Workers. law, finances, budgeting. Money lending, helping moneylenders. Functioning as priest or worshipper in temples, Bishop, Nun or Padre in Christianity. Giving discourses on religion, faith and spiritualism. Holy places and places of pilgrimages, including outside temples, mosques, churches. Functioning as representative or member of any judicial or semi-judicial tribunal or any other similar forum. Agents and brokers in the field of law, judiciary, religion.


DISEASES:-  

Gastric and Gas troubles, fever, morbidness, diseases arising from vitiated phlegm, ailments of ears, fainting, insensibility, diabetes, accidents from aeroplanes. 
Jupiter indicates obesity, baldness, oedema, liver problems, diabetes, tumours, lack of concentration etc. Jupiter relates to : Education, Knowledge, Children.
Jupiter is the teacher to the World, A well placed Jupiter gives luck and good fortune to escape from Difficulty or
critical situations. Jupiter looks after Law & Order, relates to Defects in blood and Diabetes.

Plants - Astrology and Mythology

Plants seen from an astrological perspective. See how zodiac signs and plants (trees, shrubs, herbs, crawlers, bulbs, vegetables, annuals, fruits and nuts) are connected.The myths sourrounding the plants and the facts revealed, their medicinal properties give a flavour to your basic need from mother nature.How Plants are connected with the Planets ?

Jupiter 

- Herbs like dandelion, hyssop, lemon-balm, meadowsweet, mondara, ox-tongue, sage.

- Shrubs like bilberry, calycanthus, fig, jasmine, tea, thornapple, wintergreen.
- Trees like cajeurio, chestnut, date palm tree, fir tree, gospal tree, guava tree, indian tree, jambul, lemon tree,linden tree, maple tree, magnolio tree., Teak tree.

Jupiter 

Jupiter is the karaka for finance and children. A person is said to be fortunate to lead a peaceful life only when Jupiter is posited well in his horoscope and is not afflicted. Because everybody is concerned about his family and bank position. It is very important for rise in fortune or financial position of a person that his sun and Jupiter are strong, well placed, well aspected and without any affliction. He is karaka of 2nd, 5th and 9th houses of education. It is a divine planet denoting logic, wisdom and hope. He signifies all types of intelligence, education, logic, intuition, scriptures, knowledge, and control over senses. Interaction of mercury with Jupiter with lagna or 5th house or their lords adds extra shine to education. Treasury, banking, teaching, law and justice, postal department, courts, temples, revenue department, advisory councils, advertisements etc are few professions related to Jupiter.

The Mantras for Jupiter:

Beej Mantra of Jupiter:	Om jhram jhreem jroum sah gurave namah Om graam greem groum sah gurave namah
Jupiter stotra:	Devanaam cha Hrisheenaam cha gurum kanchan sannibham buddhi bhutam trilokesham tam namami brihaspatim
Gayatri Mantra of Jupiter:	Om vrishabadhwajaaya vidmahae kruni hastaaya dheemahi tanno guru prachodayaat

Remedies for Jupiter which are performed if Jupiter is not well placed in the horoscope:

1.    Worshiping the ruling deity of the Jupiter, Lord Shiva.

2.    Recitation of Shiv sahastranam.

3.    Reciting of Jupiter Mantras.

4.    Charity: Donate yellow clothes, bananas, saffron and turmeric on Thursdays to priests  or brahmin.

5.    Fasting: On Thursdays.

6.    Pooja: Shiva pooja.

7.    Rudraksh: Wear five mukhi (five faced) Rudraksh.