![]() ![]() Io being the closest to Jupiter has the shortest orbit period, only 42 hours. The four moons are named Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Some nights you may only see two or three as the other moons may be behind Jupiter. As a result, their positions will be different every night. The moons move through their orbits pretty quickly. When using binoculars or the low power eyepiece of a telescope, Jupiter and its moons will look something like this picture. These are called the Galilean moons as they were first observed by Galileo in 1610. Even modest 7X35 binoculars are enough to see the four bright moons of Jupiter. What is Interesting to See When Observing Jupiter? Jupiter’s Moonsįirst, let’s look at Jupiter with binoculars. And if you look at Jupiter with binoculars you can see that it is a disk, not a point of light. ![]() You might mistake Jupiter for a bright star but when you notice it is on the ecliptic you will also notice that it looks larger than a star. So, when Jupiter is in the sky it is brighter than any star in the sky. If we look at the brightest objects in the sky they are the Sun, Moon, Venus and then Jupiter. ![]() So, when Jupiter is in the sky it is easy to find. Just like the Moon, Jupiter will rise in the east, travel the ecliptic and set in the west. When Jupiter is in our night sky it will follow a similar path. If the Moon is visible at this time, it will travel along a similar path. To locate the ecliptic, simply watch the path of the Sun as it goes from sunrise to sunset. It is an imaginary line that goes from East to West along which the Sun, Moon, and planets appear to travel. The red line that goes from left to right in an arc is called the ecliptic. The view shown is facing directly south from approximately 40 degrees north latitude. The picture shown here is a screen capture from Stellarium. Or you can use a planetarium program, like Stellarium that displays the sky and the movement of the planets and stars. How Do We Find Jupiter?Ī simple internet search will find the dates when Jupiter will be visible in the evening sky. And there are times when we can’t see Jupiter at all. So, there are better and worse times to view Jupiter. At the farthest, we are over 600 million miles apart, which would be when Jupiter is on the other side of the Sun from the Earth. At our closest, we are a little less than 400 million miles apart. And since Earth circles the Sun faster, the distance between Jupiter and the earth is constantly changing. Jupiter and the Earth travel in elliptical orbits, meaning they are not perfect circles. ![]() Why isn’t Jupiter always visible in the night sky?Īll the planets orbit the Sun, however, their orbit periods differ. But Jupiter’s clouds present a very interesting show. So when we observe Jupiter we are looking at the gaseous outer layer of Jupiter. As far as we know there is no solid surface beneath the cloud tops of Jupiter. Jupiter is called a gas giant because it is composed mostly of hydrogen and helium. Relative to Earth it is the next planet out after Mars. So, Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. We will also discuss stargazing tools to enhance the experience and challenges we face when observing Jupiter.įirst, let’s take a look at where Jupiter lies in the scheme of the 8 planets. We will consider what can be seen and what to look for as you observe. We will learn a little about Jupiter, then we will discuss observing Jupiter with your binoculars and with a telescope. Jupiter is huge! And it is easily observed even with a small telescope. In fact, you could take the seven other planets and put them all inside Jupiter and there would be room to spare. Jupiter’s diameter is approximately eleven times that of the Earth. Jupiter is often called the king of the planets because it is the largest of the eight planets. ![]()
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