The gas giant Jupiter will be at its closest point to Earth this week. Look for it in the eastern sky after sunset. Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

The giant planet Jupiter is closest to Earth this week. Even at its closest point it is still 370 million miles away from us. Fortunately, the planet is large – about 11 times the diameter of Earth. So even when it is hundreds of millions of miles away, it’s fairly easy to see details on the planet with a telescope.

Its large size also makes the planet bright and easy to find. It is rising in the east as soon as it gets dark, but it’s a good idea to wait for it to rise up higher in the sky. Around 8 p.m. the planet is the brightest object in the eastern sky. The planet is located in the constellation Aries, the ram. Jupiter easily outshines Hamal, the brightest star in Aries.

Jupiter is located in the constellation Aries, the ram. Look for it in the eastern sky as soon as it gets dark. It is very bright and should be easy to find.
Illustration courtesy of Starry Night

Jupiter at opposition on Nov. 3. At opposition, the planet is opposite of the   sun in our sky, so it is in the sky all night. Jupiter is highest in the southern sky at around 12:30 a.m. and can be seen setting in the west as the sun rises.

Don’t forget to check out Jupiter’s four largest moons. They appear as pinpoints on either side of the planet. They are large enough that you can spot them in binoculars. With a telescope you can often watch them appear from behind the planet or passing into Jupiter’s shadows. Sometimes you can even see the shadow of the moons pass across the face of Jupiter.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft recently flew past Jupiter’s largest moon Io. It’s incredibly volcanic and colorful surface is visible here. Io has at least 150 active volcanoes.
Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

Juno and Io

NASA’s Juno spacecraft completed its latest flyby of Jupiter on Oct. 15. During that flyby it passed about 7,200 miles from its moon Io. Io is fascinating to us because it is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. It has at least 150 active volcanoes on its surface. Many of these are similar to ones on Earth but Io also has volcanoes that spew sulfur and sulfur dioxide. This gives the surface of Io its distinctive and colorful appearance.

Kevin D. Conod is the Planetarium Astronomer at the County College of Morris and president of the North Jersey Astronomical Group.