Here’s Everything You Should Know about Jupiter’s Closest Approach to Earth in 59 Years
Few weeks ago, NASA made a big revelation, and it was about planet Jupiter. According to the scientists, you can see the Jupiter closest to Earth on September 26. Surprisingly, this happened for the first time in 59 years.
The best part about this event was the excellent Jupiter view that the star gazers got on that night. If you too are wondering about how to view Jupiter, we will take you through everything you need to know about the special day. We will also discuss the phenomenon behind this event!
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How Was Jupiter Visible From Earth?
Scientists explained that one can witness Jupiter opposition image from Earth on September 26, and opposition here is when an astronomical object rises in the East as the Sun sets in the West. So, on September 26, the Jupiter and the Sun appeared on opposite sides of the Earth, which made Jupiter viewing magical.
Technically, Jupiter’s opposition with Earth comes about once every 13 months, but there’s more to it that happened on September 26. This day, opposition coincided with the time resulting in Jupiter closest approach to Earth.
At the farthest, Jupiter is approximately 965 million kilometres away from Earth. However, on September 26, this planet was located at a distance of 590 million kilometres away. The experts had said earlier that one can view clear Jupiter in night sky with just a pair of good binoculars. Besides, they would also be able to view the banding (the central band), and three or four of the Galilean satellites.
Adam Kobelski, a research astrophysicist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center addressed a press meet to explain that for getting the clear picture, a stable mount for your system is extremely important.
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He further recommended that one should use a large telescope, which should be around 4-inch or larger. This size telescope would even help you see the gas giant’s Great Red Spot, which is definitely the rarest sight. He had said that filters in the green to the blue range further enhance the clear visibility of the red spot.
For your information, Scientists have detected a total of 79 Jovian moons and about 53 moons. According to them, the four largest moons in the universe are known as, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. These four largest moons are collectively known as Galilean satellites because Galileo discovered these moons in 1610. The scientists has earlier revealed that beside the Jupiter September 26, people will be able to view Galilean satellites, too. Besides the gas planet, with a good pair of binoculars, many were able to view the Galilean satellites visible in the form of two bright dots placed on either side of the planet.
Did you miss out on this mystical event? Don’t worry many have captured stunning images of Jupiter:
Over one week of Jupiter's four Galilean moons orbiting the gas giant during it's opposition with Earth. #space #Jupiter #jupiteropposition2022 pic.twitter.com/bMtOCRc0th
— SpookXplorer ? (@SpaceXplorer7) October 3, 2022
Another image of Jupiter taken from Dublin this evening with the Great Red Spot visible #JupiterOpposition2022 #jupiter @AstronomyIRL pic.twitter.com/RDSTQ8lD53
— Conor Quinlan (@Conor_Q21) September 29, 2022
LIVE on @Twitch: Follow along on a virtual tour of Jupiter's moon Europa, using our @NASA_Eyes on the Solar System tool—and ask our #JunoMission experts your questions! https://t.co/k0NXqzq4ou pic.twitter.com/fZrDryIKbx
— NASA (@NASA) September 30, 2022
