Jupiter Will Make Its Closest Approach To Earth In Nearly 60 Years Tonight

NASA predicts that Jupiter will reach opposition this week. This means that Jupiter will become visible in the east as the sun sets in the west.

Jupiter, the biggest object in the solar system, will be approaching Earth much closer than it has in 1963. This is an opportunity to see Jupiter.

There is a proximity difference between Earth and Jupiter, which has an elliptical orbit. Variations in distance will cause the planets to experience opposition.

Jupiter’s closest approach to Earth rarely coincides with opposition. This year, 2019, coincides with opposition, making this comparative approach towards the blue marble special.

If you’re looking for Jupiter in the night sky, you’ll be able to find it by looking east in the evening just after sunset. This gas planet will be brighter than anything else apart from the moon. To get a better view of it, try to go around 7:29 p.m. Monday to sunrise on Tuesday, according to Time and Date

Jupiter will be at its closest point in about a month and then it will go back to close to 600 million miles away.

Adam Kobelski, a NASA scientist, said in a statement that Jupiter should be visible with a good pair of binoculars. The central band and three or four moons should be clearly visible.

Kobelski says that it’s important to remember that Galileo observed these moons with 17th-century optics and a stable mount is one of the key components for whatever system is used.

Kobelski said that the visibility of Jupiter’s patterns is improved if you use a bigger telescope.

For the best view of Jupiter, find a dry and dark location without light pollution. After Monday, you can see it for a few days and it should be one of the brightest objects in the sky.

What will happen when Jupiter is at its closest to Earth

Jupiter is 318 times as massive as Earth and about twice as big as every other planet in the solar system. The surface area of this enormous planet is more than 23.7 billion square miles, but because it’s made up of hydrogen and helium, it’s much less dense than Earth.

Jupiter is the fastest spinning planet in our solar system at a speed of 28,000 mph and takes 10 hours to make around the circumference of the Sun.

The planet is the third brightest object in the solar system after Venus and Earth’s moon.

Highs and lows are not present on Jupiter because the planet is made of gas. Mass makes a difference, so if Jupiter got any more massive, it would actually get smaller because its density would cause it to start pulling inward on itself.

Jupiter has a ring system that astronomers believe was formed from material ejected by its moons. This strong magnetic field is created from the swirling movements of conducting materials within an all-metal core.

Jupiter has 67 confirmed and named satellites. Scientists estimate there may be as many as 200 moons orbiting Jupiter. The four major moons, referred to as the Galilean Moons, are some of the largest in the solar system or just like other objects orbiting in space.

Jupiter has the most powerful magnetic field in the solar system because of its rapid rotation, liquid hydrogen core, and metallic materials.

Scientists have found that only the clouds of this gas giant are 38 miles thick, and made of ammonia crystals. Beneath these clouds, they have deduced that there is more than likely just hydrogen and helium without any other substances

What the Big Red Spot is and how big it is

The Great Red Spot is a storm on Jupiter that is consistently located south of the equator. It is often mistaken as a planet feature due to its size. The storm was first discovered by Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini in 1665 and has since been a popular subject of study by astronomers.

This storm has raged for centuries. It has a diameter of 15,000 miles and is 8,900 miles high. Worlds could fit inside it.

Jupiter is coming close to us tonight- here are some facts

A person wearing a spacesuit and trying to land on Jupiter will never make it to within 200,000 miles of the planet. Radiation would penetrate the suit and kill them long before they got that close.

A human would not survive traveling from the top of the atmosphere to the surface of Jupiter. The atmospheric pressure and electrical discharges at that level in the atmosphere are too high for any human to withstand, and though temperatures are much more tolerable near the surface, if you were close enough to get these temperatures with a properly insulated suit, you’d be closer than necessary to survive at all.

It is the deepest that any object has sailed into the gas giant. The journey begins with 300 mph winds circling Jupiter, which creates a mass of whirlpools going 75 miles deep before hitting the gas giant’s atmosphere.

Traveling through the planet, the Earth-like environment becomes darker and hotter as you go farther into the journey until it gets so dark that you can’t see anything except for the light from lightning, and it feels like all the pressure on your body. Finally, we reach the center of the gas giant, where it’s hotter than a solar surface.

There’s really no hope of escaping from Jupiter’s gravitational grasp. Once a human descends into the planet’s atmosphere, they won’t be able to escape.

The gas giant Jupiter will be visible for a few days after the close approach on Monday, and with clear skies, it will be the brightest object in the sky.