The planet Jupiter will shine extra-bright in the evening sky tonight due to an astronomical alignment that occurs just once a year. KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny reports on how to see it.
It’s called “opposition” when the Sun, Earth, and a planet—in this case Jupiter—swing into a straight line. As seen from Earth, Jupiter is completely illuminated by sunlight and appears at its biggest and brightest. Opposition occurs at almost the same time as perigee, the moment when Jupiter is closest to Earth in its orbit—just 370 million miles away.
Watch for Jupiter rising in the East as the sun sets in the West. The moment of opposition occurs at 10 p.m. tonight, but the planet will continue shining brightly through mid-December. It will be the second brightest starlike object in the sky, outshone only by Venus which rises a few hours before dawn.
