JamesG
09-19-2010, 06:27 PM
Jupiter Making Closest Approach to Earth in 47 Years
Marcia Dunn - AP
Sept 19, 2010
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Sept. 19) - Better catch Jupiter this week in the night sky. It won't be that big or bright again until 2022.
Jupiter will pass 368 million miles from Earth late Monday, its closest approach since 1963. You can see it low in the east around dusk.
Around midnight, it will be directly overhead. That's because Earth will be passing between Jupiter and the sun, into the wee hours of Tuesday.
Coincidentally, Uranus also will make a close approach the same night.
It will appear close to Jupiter but harder to see with the naked eye. Through a telescope, it will shine like an emerald-colored disk less than one degree from Jupiter.
Tony Phillips, a California astronomer under contract with NASA, calls this a "once-in-a-lifetime event."
Phillips urges stargazers not to give up if it's cloudy Monday night. Jupiter will remain relatively close for many weeks, he noted, providing good viewing opportunities for some time.
And for those who are early risers instead of night owls, Jupiter will be visible setting in the west just before sunrise.
http://www.aolnews.com/science/article/jupiter-to-make-closest-approach-to-earth-since-1963/19639653
Marcia Dunn - AP
Sept 19, 2010
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Sept. 19) - Better catch Jupiter this week in the night sky. It won't be that big or bright again until 2022.
Jupiter will pass 368 million miles from Earth late Monday, its closest approach since 1963. You can see it low in the east around dusk.
Around midnight, it will be directly overhead. That's because Earth will be passing between Jupiter and the sun, into the wee hours of Tuesday.
Coincidentally, Uranus also will make a close approach the same night.
It will appear close to Jupiter but harder to see with the naked eye. Through a telescope, it will shine like an emerald-colored disk less than one degree from Jupiter.
Tony Phillips, a California astronomer under contract with NASA, calls this a "once-in-a-lifetime event."
Phillips urges stargazers not to give up if it's cloudy Monday night. Jupiter will remain relatively close for many weeks, he noted, providing good viewing opportunities for some time.
And for those who are early risers instead of night owls, Jupiter will be visible setting in the west just before sunrise.
http://www.aolnews.com/science/article/jupiter-to-make-closest-approach-to-earth-since-1963/19639653