NASA has a message for space lovers this month: Look up. The largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter, will be clearly visible June 10 — and to see its biggest moons you'll only need to grab a pair of binoculars.
NASA said the gas giant is at its "biggest and brightest this month" and will be visible all night. The planet will reach opposition, the annual occurrence when the Jupiter, Earth and the Sun are arranged in a straight line, with Earth in the center. So, mark your calendars for Monday, as it will be the best time of the year to see it.
What's Up for June? 🔭 Jupiter is up all night, while Mercury and Mars decide to get close, and the Moon reveals its tilted orbit. Downloadable video and transcript available at https://t.co/tPYUwcimlm pic.twitter.com/lPw2pIEyZ0 — NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) June 3, 2019
While the planet famous for its brilliant stripes and swirls will be visible to the naked eye, binoculars or a small telescope only enhance its clarity. The devices will also allow people to spot Jupiter's four largest moons, and possibly even a "glimpse" of part of the banded clouds that surround the planet. Scientists believe the planet has a combined 79 moons — 53 named and 26 awaiting official names.
However, for those who want an even closer look at the planet, NASA's Juno spacecraft is currently orbiting Jupiter and has captured stunning footage.
lambofgun on June 6th, 2019 at 18:02 UTC »
i can see the 4 biggest with binoculars pretty easily. with a telescope their position is very obvious and even the sizes can sometimes be discerned. but theyre visible with binoculars
kayriss on June 6th, 2019 at 17:44 UTC »
If anyone wants to play with the position of the planets, check out Solar System Scope.
https://www.solarsystemscope.com/
Most user friendly one of these I've seen. You can REALLY see why it is that Jupiter is so grand right now. Try gettting centred on earth, and push forward to June 17th. Look out at Mercury and Mars, and see how from our perspective they look right next to each other, even though from a birds eye view they're really far away.
Then go watch the twitter video in the link and hear NASA explain it. SO COOL
MrKnikkers on June 6th, 2019 at 17:26 UTC »
Ehh...Aren’t those moons always visible with binoculars?