Density of Jupiter

We have or approximately The density is then 300/(103) = 300/1000 = 0.3 times the density of the earth. More exactly, we get 0.24 times the density of the earth (5500 kg/m3) or 1300 kg/m3.

That's really light. Jupiter is certainly not made of rock. It can't even be made of water, even though 1000 kg/m3 is the density of water. That's because Jupiter is so big that whatever it is made from would be much compressed compared to its density in a laboratory on Earth.


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Davison E. Soper, Institute of Theoretical Science, University of Oregon, Eugene OR 97403 USA soper@bovine.uoregon.edu