Ju•pi•ter (jpĭ-tər)
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Tweet n. 1. Roman Mythology The supreme god, patron of the Roman state and brother and husband of Juno. He came to be identified with the Greek Zeus.Also called Jove. 2. Astronomy The fifth planet from the sun, the largest and most massive in the solar system, having a sidereal period of revolution about the sun of 11.86 years at a mean distance of 778.6 million kilometers (483.8 million miles), a mean diameter of approximately 143,000 kilometers (89,000 miles), and a mass approximately 320 times that of Earth. [LatinIūpiter; see dyeu- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] (click for a larger image) Jupiter(click for a larger image) Jupitertop: 1st-century ad Roman sardonyx on 14th-century gold and enamel mount bottom: the planet Jupiter |
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