What is the largest planet in our solar system?

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. This gas giant has a diameter of about 143,000 kilometres, roughly 11 times Earth's diameter, and contains more than twice the mass of all the other planets combined.

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and completes an orbit in about 11.86 Earth years. It is made mostly of hydrogen and helium and does not have a solid surface like Earth. Beneath its cloud tops, pressure increases until hydrogen behaves like a metallic fluid.

The planet is famous for the Great Red Spot, a gigantic storm that has been observed for centuries. Jupiter also has a faint ring system and a large family of moons. The four largest—Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto—are called the Galilean moons after Galileo Galilei observed them in 1610.

Saturn is the second-largest planet, while Earth and Neptune are much smaller. Jupiter's great size also gives it the strongest gravitational influence of any planet, helping shape the paths of many comets and asteroids.