Best time to view Jupiter in opposition
Jupiter takes 12 Earth years to complete one orbit, but one day on the planet is only nine hours long.
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It’s the best time of the year to view the planet Jupiter and that’s because on Saturday, the gaseous giant will be in opposition.
Opposition is when the Sun, Earth and the outer planet all line up, or when the outer planet is “opposite” the sun.
As seen from Earth, Jupiter will rise as the sun sets and will be overhead around midnight.
With Jupiter, this happens every 13 months. This year, it happens to line up with a really cold dark night – but this weather will be great for viewing.
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun and during opposition, it will be 4.09 AU away. An AU, is an astronomical unit, or the distance from the sun to the Earth. This means that it’s over four times farther from the Earth, than we are from the sun. Jupiter moves slowly around the sun, but not as slow as Saturn.
Jupiter takes 12 Earth years to complete one orbit, but one day on the planet is only nine hours long. Jupiter also has anywhere from 80-95 moons. The most famous ones are the four largest, or Galilean moons that are easily visible with a telescope.
Jupiter will appear nice and bright, too. It will shine with magnitude of -2.8 and on Dec. 6, is the day the planet will be closest to Earth. Close is a relative term, because at 5 a.m. on Dec. 6, it will be 380 million miles away. At a 2.8 magnitude, it’s easily visible with the naked eye. A telescope will bring much more detail, but it’s not required to at least spot it in the constellation Taurus.
Be sure to take a look this week, or anytime over the next several weeks. It will remain visible at night well into next year.
Happy stargazing!
