Jupiter in Opposition

I am fascinated by Jupiter!  Even though I have no plans for it (unlike, say Venus), Jupiter is so dazzling, beautiful, and huge that it is impossible not to be impressed.  Also it is so colossally enormous that it is quite difficult to even conceive of it: Jupiter has a mass one-thousandth that of the Sun!  Indeed Jupiter is a sort of miniature solar system in itself with several rings, a magnetosphere, and 79 known moons.   Ferrebeekeeper has touched on Jupiter’s moons, its poles, its great spot, and on our robot missions out to the planet.

However today is something more mundane, yet also more accessible: tonight Jupiter is in opposition to Earth.  This means that On June 10, 2019, Earth is directly between the sun and planet Jupiter.  You should run out into the night and look at it!  Tonight you can see the largest moons of Jupiter with a small scope (or, if you are very lucky and have eagle vision, with your bare eyes).

Of course it won’t have all the details you see on pictures back from our probes, but it has something else which is special–it won’t be on some glowing screen.  It is real and you can see it for yourself with your own eyes.  So, go out and enjoy the June night and the sight of our biggest planetary neighbor.  There is a lot to talk about and do, but maybe it is worth taking a little astronomy break right now.  And if it is raining or you don’t see this post until tomorrow, don’t worry! There will be a few days when Jupiter dominates the heavens (although you can always check out Fourmilab, if you are having trouble locating it).

 

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