Dictionary of Paranormal Terms - J

Jersey Devil
A creature with a considerable history which has been seen in the state of New Jersey. The legend itself dates back to 1735, when a woman in Leeds gave birth to what was considered to be a 'cursed' child, with the head of a horse, hooves, a snake's tail and wings. This entity came to be known as the 'Jersey Devil.' The most prominent series of sightings of the creature occured in 1909, when over 100 people reported they'd seen it over a five day period. Hoofprints were also found stretching over a great distance in the snow, and the local fire department allegedly fired their hoses at it when they encountered the creature flying overhead. There is much debate over the authenticity of these reports, and some believe that the story was used as a way to sell property to developers at lower prices. Even so, sightings of the creature have been reported more recently. In 1993, a park ranger encountered the creature late at night. He took cover in his car as he observed what he described as a six feet tall dark figure with the head of a deer and two piercing red eyes.

Jupiter
Fifth planet from the Sun, Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system at a mean distance of 778 million km from the Sun. It's volume is more than 1,400 times that of the Earth, but it's mass is only 318 times more. Jupiter is one of the four gas giants, along with Saturn, Neptune and Uranus, in that it is composed mostly of gas, and has no solid surface. Strong atmospheric currents give Jupiter a banded appearance, and some storms on the planet last for centuries, such as the Great Red Spot, one of Jupiter's most prominent features. To date there are known to be at least 28 moons orbiting the planet, the largest of which have also been studied in considerable detail - Europa, Io, Ganymede and Callisto.