Jupiter Will Come Closer to Earth This Month

Space lovers are in for a treat this month as NASA has announced that Jupiter will be visible with the naked eye on June 10th. Those who wish to observe some of its largest moons will be able to do so with the help of a pair of binoculars.

The remarkable gas giant will be particularly bright this month, and it will remain visible during the entire night. As the planet moves through the sky, it will reach the opposition point, an annual event during which Jupiter, Earth, and the Sun will form a straight line with the Earth being in the middle.

Jupiter is known for its iconic stripes and swirls, which are quite spectacular. NASA suggests that you should opt to use a binocular even if you don’t want to look at the moon since it may allow the spotting some of the banded clouds which surround Jupiter.

Jupiter will come close to Earth this month, but other astronomical events would be visible

In the middle of June, Mars and Mercury will also come quite close together, and they will be visible after the sun sets on June 17th and 18th. If you want to observe them, you will need to be in some specific areas since visibility on the western horizon will be a little limited. It is expected that the experience will be amazing.

From June 14th to the 19th the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn will form a lineup which will vary during each night as the moon orbits around Earth. Unlike Jupiter and Saturn, the Moon will follow its path, landing in the middle of the two planets on June 18th. The specific trajectory reinforces the fact that the Moon’s orbit is a bit tilted in comparison to Earth’s orbit around the star.

The tilt in the orbit of the moon prevents the occurrence of monthly lunar and solar eclipses since in most cases the moon will miss line formed by the Sun and Earth. It is thought that Jupiter is orbited by several 79 moons, but only 53 are named.