What Would I Weigh on Jupiter?

About Jupiter's Gravity

Jupiter's surface gravity is a crushing 24.79 m/s² — 2.36 times Earth's 9.81 m/s². This makes Jupiter the planet with the strongest gravity in our solar system. The reason is simple: Jupiter is absurdly massive. It contains more mass than all the other planets, moons, asteroids, and comets in our solar system combined — and then some. Its mass is 318 times that of Earth.

What would this feel like? Imagine strapping on a weighted vest that doubles your body weight, then trying to walk around. A 150-pound person would feel as if they weighed 354 pounds. Standing up from a chair would be a serious effort. Running would be nearly impossible. Your heart would have to work far harder to pump blood against the increased gravitational pull, and your spine would compress under the added load.

Of course, you could never actually stand on Jupiter — it has no solid surface. Jupiter is a gas giant made mostly of hydrogen and helium. If you descended into its atmosphere, you would pass through increasingly dense layers of gas, eventually reaching a region where the pressure is so extreme that hydrogen becomes a metallic liquid. The "surface gravity" we calculate is measured at the level where atmospheric pressure equals one Earth atmosphere, which is essentially the top of Jupiter's cloud deck.

Fun Jupiter Facts

• Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a storm that has been raging for at least 350 years. It is so large that Earth could fit inside it with room to spare, though the storm has been slowly shrinking over the past century.
• Jupiter spins faster than any other planet — a day on Jupiter lasts only 9 hours and 56 minutes. This rapid rotation causes the planet to visibly bulge at its equator; Jupiter is about 7% wider across the equator than pole-to-pole.
• Jupiter has at least 95 known moons. The four largest — Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto — were discovered by Galileo in 1610 and are called the Galilean moons. Europa is considered one of the best candidates for finding extraterrestrial life because it has a liquid water ocean beneath its icy surface.
• Jupiter acts as a cosmic vacuum cleaner for the inner solar system. Its massive gravity captures or deflects many comets and asteroids that might otherwise strike Earth. Some scientists believe life on Earth may owe its existence partly to Jupiter's gravitational protection.
• If Jupiter had been about 75 times more massive, it would have had enough pressure and temperature at its core to ignite nuclear fusion and become a star. Our solar system would have been a binary star system instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Jupiter have the strongest gravity of any planet?

Jupiter has the strongest surface gravity of any planet in our solar system because it is by far the most massive — it contains more than twice the mass of all other planets combined. Even though Jupiter is also very large (which would normally reduce surface gravity), its enormous mass more than compensates. The result is a surface gravity of 24.79 m/s², or 2.36 times Earth's gravity.

Could a human survive on Jupiter?

No, a human could not survive on Jupiter for multiple reasons. First, Jupiter is a gas giant with no solid surface — you would sink into increasingly dense layers of hydrogen and helium gas. Second, the atmospheric pressure increases rapidly with depth, quickly reaching crushing levels. Third, temperatures range from -145 degrees C in the upper atmosphere to tens of thousands of degrees deeper inside. And the 2.36x gravity would make movement extremely difficult even if the other conditions were survivable. The gravity alone would make a 150-pound person feel like they weigh 354 pounds.

How does Jupiter's gravity compare to other gas giants?

Jupiter's surface gravity (2.36g) is the strongest of any planet. Surprisingly, the other gas giants have much lower gravity: Saturn has 1.06g (similar to Earth despite being 95 times more massive), Uranus has 0.92g, and Neptune has 1.19g. This is because Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are much less dense than Jupiter. Saturn is so light it would float on water if you could find a big enough ocean. Jupiter's combination of extreme mass and relatively high density gives it the solar system's record for planetary gravity.