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Jupiter will get so close to Earth this month its largest moons will be visible with binoculars
cbs ^ | June 5, 2019 / | Danielle Garrand

Posted on 06/05/2019 7:25:41 PM PDT by BenLurkin

NASA has a message for space lovers this month: Look up. The largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter, will be clearly visible June 10 — and to see its biggest moons you'll only need to grab a pair of binoculars.

NASA said the gas giant is at its "biggest and brightest this month" and will be visible all night. The planet will reach opposition, the annual occurrence when the Jupiter, Earth and the Sun are arranged in a straight line, with Earth in the center. So, mark your calendars for Monday, as it will be the best time of the year to see it.

(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; binoculars; callisto; europa; galileanmoons; galileogalilei; ganymede; io; jupiter; moons; nasa; science
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To: entropy12

Bright and doesnt twinkle. It follows the same path along the sky as the sun. It’s pretty easy to spot.


41 posted on 06/05/2019 11:39:53 PM PDT by Seruzawa (TANSTAAFL!)
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To: BenLurkin

Wait, if earth is directly between the sun and Jupiter, won’t that cause a jovian eclipse?


42 posted on 06/06/2019 12:03:05 AM PDT by Chaguito
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To: entropy12

We got our son a telescope several years back. All the dots become a little bigger. Ohh ahh


43 posted on 06/06/2019 4:20:28 AM PDT by Pollard (If you don't understand what I typed, you haven't read the classics.)
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To: samadams2000

Down in MS (Gulf Coast) we have lots of cloud cover for the duration...


44 posted on 06/06/2019 4:38:40 AM PDT by trebb (Don't howl about illegal leeches while not donating to FR - it's hypocritical.)
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To: BenLurkin

I remember seeing that in the theater.


45 posted on 06/06/2019 5:06:05 AM PDT by dljordan
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To: BenLurkin; bagster

:: to see its biggest moons you’ll only need to grab a pair ::

Hmmmmmmmm....


46 posted on 06/06/2019 5:11:11 AM PDT by Cletus.D.Yokel (No dolphins were harmed in the making of this post. They enjoyed the rough handling.)
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To: BenLurkin
The planet will reach opposition, the annual occurrence when the Jupiter, Earth and the Sun are arranged in a straight line, with Earth in the center.

For it to be annual, that means Jupiter never moves.

47 posted on 06/06/2019 5:25:29 AM PDT by Teacher317 (We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men)
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To: Chaguito
Wait, if earth is directly between the sun and Jupiter, won’t that cause a jovian eclipse?

Well, sure... it will definitely block out a small percentage of the sun for any Jovians staring at the sun at that moment.

Kind of like a basketball placed 4 times further from you than the Sears Tower will block that out for you.

Distance of earth to sun - 93m mi...
distance of Jupiter to the sun - 484m mi... (5.2 times more distant)

Earth's diameter - 7900 mi...
Sun's diameter - 866,000 mi... (109 times larger)

48 posted on 06/06/2019 5:38:29 AM PDT by Teacher317 (We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men)
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To: Pollard

Hahaha! I know what you are talking about. Stars are kinda boring. The moon is the most fun to look at - you can see features, especially along the line of sunlight and dark (terminator).

Fortunately, when my Mom bought me a used telescope as a kid, one of the eyepieces had a “zoom”. Get a planet (dot) in the lens, and zoom in to see the rings - Hey! That’s Saturn! See if you can find a zoom - makes it a lot more fun than having to change the lens and re-find the object.


49 posted on 06/06/2019 10:01:40 AM PDT by HeadOn (Love God. Lead your family. Be a man.)
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To: Teacher317

Well, exactly annual, OK, but no matter where Jupiter is, there is one time each year when the Earth gets right between the two.


50 posted on 06/06/2019 10:04:40 AM PDT by HeadOn (Love God. Lead your family. Be a man.)
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To: HeadOn

Yes, since Jupiter orbits the sun in just under 12 earth years, it is in opposition approximately once every 13 months. The earth gets right between the sun and Jupiter and there is nothing Jupiter can do about it.


51 posted on 06/06/2019 11:13:58 AM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: All

I was so excited to bring out my telescope to check it out but the forecast is cloudy weather and rain all week. That is what one gets living in Central VA.


52 posted on 06/07/2019 6:35:41 AM PDT by C19fan
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To: Verginius Rufus
Remarkably Galileo discovered the four large moons of Jupiter without binoculars!

He must have had eyes like Schiff's


53 posted on 06/07/2019 6:40:09 AM PDT by COBOL2Java (AOC: The brain of a tea bisquit)
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To: COBOL2Java

He appears to be demented.


54 posted on 06/07/2019 6:42:19 AM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: logi_cal869

Good site, thanks


55 posted on 06/09/2019 7:12:23 AM PDT by P.O.E. (Pray for America)
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To: BenLurkin

https://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/jupiter-is-outstanding-at-opposition/


56 posted on 06/09/2019 7:14:04 AM PDT by P.O.E. (Pray for America)
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To: P.O.E.

Not sure why (perhaps traffic, perhaps the software), but this one seems to work better:

https://in-the-sky.org/skymap.php

This one will also let you create a negative for printer-friendly prints (won’t cost an arm/leg) and other options. Check out ‘printer greyscale. That’s sort of a big deal if you’re heading to the hills where there’s no reception and you want to print the night sky for viewing.


57 posted on 06/09/2019 8:48:09 AM PDT by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
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I have a pair of astronomical binoculars. Just took it out and we saw Jupiter along with two of its moons. Pretty cool.


58 posted on 06/10/2019 9:25:32 PM PDT by dougherty (I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. - Michelangelo)
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