By Jove! Jupiter to make closest approach to Earth in 70 years next Monday

By Jove! Jupiter to make closest approach to Earth in 70 years next Monday

Gas giant to come within just 365 million miles. Viewing conditions will be ideal even if you only have binoculars

Mon 19 Sep 2022

Next Monday, September 26, Jupiter will be the closest to Earth it has been for in 70 years.

At its furthest, the planet is around 965.5 million kilometres (600 million miles) from Earth. Next Monday day, it will be approximately 587 million kilometres (365 million miles) away, thanks to both Earth and Jupiter’s positions in their respective orbits bringing them closer to each other than usual.

Coinciding with this moment is a phenomenon called “opposition” that means Jupiter will not just be close to Earth, but ready for a close-up. A planet is in opposition when its placement is on opposite sides of the Earth from the sun – rising in the east as the Sun sets in the west. This occurs every 13 months for Jupiter, and when it does, the planet appears to be both larger and brighter.

The planet will be so close that viewers will be able to see at least the central band and three or four of its moons with good binoculars.

https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/...sest_approach/