Talk:Jupiter
Infobox angular size minimum (29.8″) conflicts with body text (30.5″)
The article gives two different values for Jupiter's minimum angular diameter, and they conflict with each other.
- Infobox (angular size field): 29.8″ to 50.1″
- Orbital motion section: "The angular diameter of Jupiter likewise varies from 50.1 to 30.5 arc seconds." (citing the same NASA Fact Sheet reference)
Both the maximum (50.1″) and the source citation are the same, so this is a direct internal contradiction.
Sanity check from orbital elements:
Jupiter's angular diameter can be estimated from its equatorial diameter (~143,000 km) divided by the maximum Earth–Jupiter separation, converted to arc seconds.
Maximum Earth–Jupiter separation occurs at conjunction with both planets near aphelion:
- Jupiter aphelion: 816.4 × 10⁶ km
- Earth aphelion: ~152.1 × 10⁶ km
- Maximum separation: ≈ 968.5 × 10⁶ km
Angular size = 206,265 × 142,984 / 968,500,000 ≈ 30.5 arc seconds
The body text's value of 30.5″ is consistent with the orbital elements. The infobox value of 29.8″ would require a Jupiter–Earth separation of ~989 million km, which exceeds the theoretical maximum and is geometrically impossible given the orbital parameters listed in the same infobox.