Opposition to Jupiter will bring it closer to Earth in 59 years

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According to NASA, Jupiter will make its closest approach to Earth in 59 years on Monday, September 26.

The largest planet in our solar system, the gas giant will be facing up, meaning the Earth is directly between it and the sun, Trina L. said. Europa Clipper Mission At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

The space agency originally said Jupiter would make its closest approach to Earth in 70 years, but corrected its statement after the error was discovered, a NASA spokesperson said.

There will be about 367 million miles (590.6 million km) between Earth and Jupiter, According to NASA. The space agency said that Jupiter is about 600 million miles (965.6 million km) from our planet at its furthest point.

Jupiter is in opposition approximately every 13 months, which is the length of time it takes the Earth to revolve around the sun relative to Jupiter, According to EarthSky.

Neither Earth nor Jupiter orbits the sun in a perfect circle, which makes each opposition a slightly different distance, said Ray, who is also a NASA research scientist for European Evaluation and Sounding Radar: Ocean to Near Surface, or REASON.

NASA said that Jupiter will appear brighter and larger in the sky, making the event a great chance to catch a glimpse.

The gaseous planet will rise near sunset and will appear pearly white to the naked eye, said Patrick Hartigan, professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University in Houston.

With binoculars or a telescope, you’ll be able to see the planet’s ranges, according to NASA.

Ray said a stargazer may also be able to see three or four of Jupiter’s moons, including Europa.

She said, “Since I’m working on a spacecraft that we’ll send to the Jupiter system to explore Europe, I’ve always been excited to see Jupiter and even Europe with my own eyes.”

To get a specific time to look at the sky, use Visible Planetary Calculator for Ancient Farmer.

Hartigan said that Saturn and Mars will also be visible, so try to spot those planets while watching Jupiter’s opposition.

Three more full moons will occur this year, According to the farmer’s calendar:

Native American tribes have different names For the full moon, such as the Cheyenne tribe’s “dry grass moon” for which occurs in September, and the Arapahoe tribe’s “dry grass moon” for the full moon which occurs in December.

Find out the peak meteor shower events coming later this year, according to EarthSky’s 2022 Meteor Shower Guide:

And there will be another total lunar eclipse and a partial solar eclipse in 2022, according to farmer calendar. A partial solar eclipse on October 25 will be visible to people in parts of Greenland, Iceland, most of Europe, northeastern Africa, and western and central Asia.

The total lunar eclipse on November 8 can be seen in Asia, Australia, the Pacific, South America and North America between 3:02 and 8:56 a.m. ET. But for people in eastern North America, the moon will be setting during that time.

Wear proper eclipse glasses to view a solar eclipse safely because sunlight can damage the eyes.