Jupiter is known as the king of planets. The swirling gas giant could fit 1,000 Earths inside. It is an absolute unit, a beautiful chocolate. This Saturday, December 7, offers the best Jupiter viewing opportunity of the year.
Jupiter comes to opposition on December 7th. Opposition is when a planet is on the opposite side of Earth to the Sun, so Earth is like the filling of a heavenly Oreo cookie.
“Jupiter will shine at its brightest during the year, rising in the east-northeast among the stars of Taurus.” NASA said in a skywatching guide for December. The gas giant will be visible all night, so come out anytime to check it out. Jupiter’s opposition only comes around every 13 months, so don’t miss it.
Jupiter can be enjoyed with the naked eye, but it really shows when you look at it with good binoculars or, even better, a telescope. If all you have are binoculars, give it a try. Brace your elbows to a solid surface to maintain your vision. Look for small points of light clustered around Jupiter. If you’re lucky, you’ll see the four Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa. Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei first spotted Jupiter’s moons in 1610. Jupiter now has 95 known moons, but only the largest can be seen with binoculars.
This processed color view of Europa comes from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s.
The opposition isn’t the only great time for Jupiter this month. NASA encourages stargazers to head out around Dec. 14 to see Jupiter between the moon and Aldebaran, a bright orange star in the constellation Taurus. Aldebaran is one of the brightest stars in the sky, so it should be a lovely sight. If you need a little help locating the star, use a stargazing app to guide you
As you enjoy Jupiter glowing in the night sky, give some thought to humanity’s recent missions to the fascinating gas giant. NASA’s Juno spacecraft is still in residence and back on its way stunning views of Jupiter. The space agency launched its own Europa Clipper mission earlier this year. Europa Clipper will get up close and personal with the icy Galilean moon Europa, which may be hiding an ocean beneath its crust.
Jupiter is named after the Roman king of the gods. It will be a crown jewel in your sky-watching adventures this month.
