New measurements: Jupiter is smaller than previously thought

Juno noted that Jupiter has an equatorial diameter of 142,976 kilometers, eight less than previous measurements indicated. It was also discovered that the diameter of the largest planet from the north to the south pole is about 133,684 kilometers, i.e. 24 less than believed.

Jupiter, just like Earth, is not a perfect sphere, butć is partially ‘flattened’, and new data show that it is somewhat more than earlier data indicated. Jupiter’s equator is about seven percent longer than its vertical diameter. Earth’s equator, on the other hand, is only 0.33 lengths of the vertical diameter.

Earlier measurements of Jupiter were based on data collected by NASA’s Voyager and Pioneer spacecraft in the late 1970s. Juno, launched in 2011, has been orbiting the largest planet since 2016, sending raw data back to Earth. In 2021, NASA extended its mission, thereby giving scientists the opportunity to continue measurements that then enable more precise research.