This Monday, the gas giant Jupiter will be visible in particular because it coincides with another event called opposition. Jupiter will be closest to Earth in 59 years.
Details about Jupiter will be the closest to Earth in nearly six decades
You could draw a straight line from the sun through Earth and to Jupiter with all three bodies in alignment because when a planet is in opposition, it is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun. Each year, Jupiter opposes itself for 13 months. When the sun sets in the west as seen from Earth, Jupiter will rise in the east, in direct opposition. Planets are at their largest and brightest during opposition.
Jupiter is also approaching Earth more closely than it has since 1963. Earth and Jupiter do not always pass each other at the same distance because of their different orbits around the sun. According to NASA, Jupiter will be 367 million miles away from Earth when it is closest on Monday. It is 600 million miles away at its farthest.
Both have the potential to produce perspectives that are slightly superior to average.
According to NASA astrophysicist Alphonse Sterling of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, “Jupiter is so bright and spectacular that a really nice thing about it is that even in a city, in the center of a bright city, you can see it.” “So, regardless of where you are, I would suggest that it’s a nice thing to take advantage of and look at.”
He points out that Jupiter is always clearly visible in the night sky as long as it is not close to the sun and that a casual observer could find it challenging to discern any size variation.
With just a pair of 7×50 binoculars, according to Sterling, he was also able to see the largest moons of Jupiter a few days ago (7 times magnification with a 50 mm objective lens).
The four moons that are referred to as Jupiter’s Galilean satellites are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Galileo Galilei, who made the discovery more than 400 years ago, is credited with coining the world.
To get a clear look using binoculars if you don’t have a telescope, you’ll need a technique to hold them very steadily. As per Sterling, he used a ledge.
He claims, “I could certainly make out the moons, you know, over to the side of Jupiter looking like small stars. Therefore, doing it can be enjoyable. And right now, that’s far simpler than it would be if Jupiter were at its farthest distance.
Of Jupiter’s 53 named moons, the Galilean satellites are one of 79 total moons that have been discovered.
New pictures of Jupiter and its moons captured by the James Webb Space Telescope were released by NASA a month ago. Additionally, since it started orbiting Jupiter six years ago, NASA’s Juno mission has been delivering top-notch photographs.
Jupiter won’t be this near to Earth again until 2129.
