Jupiter‘s orbit revolves around the Sun until it reaches the opposite side of the Sun as seen from Earth. Aside from reaching that position, the largest planet in the solar system will be the closest to Earth in 59 years on Monday. It will be this close to us in 107 years, only 59,06,29,248 kilometres away.
Additionally, the gas giant will be in opposition, a precise alignment of the sun, Earth, and Jupiter. This coincidence will make Jupiter even more visible.
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Given that Earth and Jupiter orbit the sun at different rates and distances, opposition occurs around once every 13 months. However, the present opposition will be notable because Jupiter will be making its closest approach to Earth since 1963 practically simultaneously with it. Because the planets’ orbits are not exactly round, Jupiter moves over time closer to Earth before moving further away. They stretch and bulge in an oval pattern, indicating that a planet may occasionally be particularly close to or far from the sun.
The planet, which takes more than 11 years to orbit the Sun once, will be directly opposite the Sun during this time, making it one of the brightest celestial objects as seen from Earth.
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Jupiter will be roughly 367 million miles from Earth on September 26. This might sound like a lot, but Jupiter can be up to 600 million miles away at its furthest point, so it isn’t that distant.
NASA predicts that spectators in areas with clear skies and little light pollution will be able to see Jupiter in amazing detail over the coming nights. Jupiter can be seen without any special equipment, while binoculars or a telescope will help to reveal more subtle details.
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With a -2.9 magnitude, Jupiter will look bright in the sky, making it appear considerably brighter and larger. The 53-moon planet will be visible in the nighttime skies. Jupiter will start to appear in the sky at 5:29 p.m. today and will be visible until 5:31 a.m. on September 27 when it is closest to Earth.