Jupiter looms big and bright in the night sky as it reaches opposition Monday, opening a window of prime viewing.
The planet will be visible to the naked eye — it will look like a bright blurry star — and with binoculars, the view gets even more interesting. Its four largest moons might be visible, as well as the planet’s cloud bands and maybe even the famous red spot.
The viewing opportunity is the result of Jupiter’s position in a direct line with the Earth and sun. The planet is also nearing perigee — the closest it will be to Earth this year — but because of its elliptical orbit, perigee will be on Wednesday, two days after opposition.
Jupiter will be visible above the southeast horizon shortly after sunset. In the San Francisco Bay Area, start looking around 9 p.m. It will traverse the southern sky and will set around 5 a.m. A skywatching app can help you locate it quickly.
Unfortunately for Bay Area skywatchers, clouds are expected to return around sunset Monday. The gibbous moon, on the other hand, shouldn’t be too much of a factor, and it sets around 2 a.m., so there will be a couple of dark hours before morning twilight.
What's up in the June night skies? Find out how you can see Jupiter at its biggest and brightest, while Mercury and Mars appear ultra-close + how you can observe the Moon's tilted orbit. Watch & find out more: https://t.co/n6EfYEMrW8 pic.twitter.com/QIR0rklCIX
— NASA (@NASA) June 3, 2019
