Earlier this year, we witnessed the very special ‘five planet alignment' when Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn could be seen in a straight line in the night sky. But now something rare is going to happen. Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, will be coming closer to the Earth than it has done in the last 59 years. This is a big moment as the majority of the living population have never seen the gas giant so close to us before. And with modern tech like astronomical telescopes or even binoculars, anyone can sneak a peek at the majestic Jupiter. So, if you are an astronomy enthusiast, you cannot miss this fascinating spectacle. The date of the event is September 26. Read on for more details.
During this event, Jupiter will be directly on the opposite side of the Sun. This is called opposition and it is not an uncommon occurrence. Every 13 months, the Earth and Jupiter come in a position of opposition. However what is truly fascinating this time is that this occurrence rarely coincides with the perigee of the planet. Perigee of any celestial body which moves in a fixed orbit is defined as the point in its orbit which is the closest to the Earth.
This means during the period building up to September 26 and a few days after that, you can see Jupiter shining unusually bright in the night sky. If you can get your hands on a pair of binoculars or a telescope, you will also get to steal an up-close view of the gas giant.
“Take advantage of good weather on either side of this date to take in the sight. Outside of the moon, it should be one of the (if not the) brightest objects in the night sky. With good binoculars, the banding — at least the central band — and three or four of the Galilean satellites should be
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