The king of the planets, Jupiter, is the largest planet in the Solar System with a volume more than 1300 times that of Earth and a mass which exceeds that of all the other planets, moons and asteroids combined and, therefore, is appropriately named after the king of the gods Zeus. Jupiter and its four Gallilean moons, a miniature solar system in their own, are perhaps the most popular of any of the solar system bodies with respect to both observation and imaging. Jupiter is the first of the gas giants that one encounters when travelling away from the sun where hydrogen and helium dominate a thick atmosphere. Due to the tremendous pressure and temperature that exists on the planet, it is believed that these gases intermix with liquid metallic hydrogen at lower altitudes which in turn is suspected to cover a rocky core approximately 150% the diameter of Earth and 10-15 times more massive. Aside from its four largest moons, discovered by Galileo in 1610, and sixty-three in total discovered so far, the most widely recognized feature is the Great Red Spot in the southern hemisphere which has been observed since the 1700's and is believed to be a massive anticyclonic storm with winds of the order of 400 kph (250 mph) measuring twice our planet horizontally and about the same size vertically.

Numerous satellite probes have identified hydrogen and helium as the primary elements as well as traces of methane, water, ammonia, acetylene, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. Aside from extremely high temperatures and pressure, Jupiter is characterized with electric currents, an intense magnetic field and high radiation levels. Voyager 2 (1977) discovered a very thin and dark ring around Jupiter (similar to Saturn) and active volcanoes on Jupiter's satellite Io. Galileo and its Jupiter Probe (1989) which attempted to parachute into the planet established a pressure of 24 G's only one hour into the descent. For additional satellite missions and associated findings, click here.

Note: Jupiter is second only to Venus as the brightest planet and is visible for most of the evening near opposition (Sept 26, 2022) when it rises due east following sunset, reaches the southern meridian and its greatest apparent altitude around midnight and sets due west as dawn approaches. For the 2022 opposition, Jupiter will also be at perigee due to its distance of 591 million km from Earth and will be characterized with an apparent diameter of 49.80" and an apparent magnitude of -2.9.

The impressive bronze statue with marble pedestal of a woman militant fighter depicted below represents the work of the sculptor Nikolaos Kotziamanis (1946-). Erected in September, 1996 in Larnaca, Cyprus, it is known as the Heroes Monument of Lysi ("Μνημείο Ηρώων της Λύσης") and is dedicated to the EOKA resistance movement fighters (from Lysi) who fell during their efforts to free Cyprus from British colonial rule during 1955-1959. The monument was later expanded to include fatalities from EOKA B (also from Lysi) who fell in 1974 during the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus.

Note: For additional results involving the Sun, Moon and other celestial bodies rising or setting against well-known monuments and sites from around the world, please click here.