Skywatchers heading out at night on Sunday will almost certainly be drawn toward the eastern sky, where the two brightest objects visible at that hour will be clearly visible.
The moon, now in its waning gibbous phase, will be near a brilliant, non-blinking silvery “star.” However, this object is not a star, but the largest planet in our solar system: Jupiter.
Jupiter appears on the eastern horizon before 9pm local time. It rises about four minutes earlier each night, until in late October it will shine before the end of evening twilight. At that time, the planet will be so bright – it will essentially reach its peak brightness in 2023 – that it will be easy to see before the sky completely darkens.
A few hours after rising, Jupiter had risen higher above the hazy horizon (or as I call it, “the atmosphere stupid“) and sparkled with a brighter and purer light. This light shines high above the southern horizon in the quiet morning hours after midnight, and is finally lowest in the western sky at dawn.
Related: Night sky, October 2023: What you can see tonight [maps]
On Sunday night, Jupiter will be about 2.3 degrees below and to the right of the moon. Remember that your fist held at arm’s length measures approximately ten degrees. On Monday, the moon will shift almost 16 degrees to the left of Jupiter.
Jupiter is located in the small and relatively dim constellation Aries, and will remain there until April 27th. Every day brings our world closer to the shift between the giant planets and the sun. When we finally do on November 3, Jupiter will be in opposition, meaning it will be opposite the sun in our sky.
Jupiter as it will be seen in the night sky in October. (Image credit: Chris Vaughan/Starry Night)
Four more months
Now is also a good time to start researching the famous Galilean satellites; the four largest Jovian moons. In theory, they are all bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. In fact, over 40 years ago, a good friend of mine, who was the education coordinator at the Hayden Planetarium, claimed to have the ability to do just that (he also said that he could also see the crescent moon of Venus with his naked eyes as well).
But for those of us without sharp eyesight, optical assistance is almost always needed to separate the moons from the glare of the mighty planetary kings.
Binoculars held steady can show all four moons, although you may have to make special plans to capture deepest Io closer to elongation. Telescopes almost always show all four. At medium strength, you can detect a change in their position in about an hour, and sometimes, when they are close together, in just a few minutes.
In fact, on Sunday night, all four satellites will be clearly visible. The other two are to the east of Jupiter, while the other two are to the west. The two that will appear closest to Jupiter, and also to each other, are (out of the big planets) Io and Europa. The other two, on the other side of Jupiter are Ganymede and – the furthest of the four – Callisto.
Four Galilean moons, in order of increasing distance from Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/DLR)
Repeat performance on the 28th
One well-known lunar cycle is the sidereal moon, the period of time it takes for the moon to orbit once around the earth about the stars in the background, a period equal to about 27.2 days. As a planet, Jupiter actually shifted its position relative to the stars, but only slightly in about a month. So, if we add 27.2 days to October 1, we get to October 28, and sure enough, on that night the moon will once again pass close to Jupiter.
So, if cloudy skies block your view of the moon and Jupiter on Sunday night, don’t worry. You’ll get another chance to see them together on the last Saturday night in October.
Want to see Jupiter or the moon in the night sky? Check out our guides on the best telescopes, best binoculars and best telescopes for planet viewing.
And if you want to take amazing photos of Jupiter, the moon, or the night sky in general, check out our guides on how to photograph the moon or how to photograph the planets, as well as our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses. for astrophotography.
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Planetarium Hayden. He wrote about astronomy for Natural History MagazineThat Farmer’s Almanac and other publications.
Editor’s Note: If you took a picture of Jupiter next to the moon and want to share it with Space.com readers, send your photos, comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
2023-10-20 10:23:45
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