When Jupiter moves closest to Earth on June 10, the gas giant will be visible in the night sky with the naked eye, even in cities, and its four largest moons will be visible with just a pair of binoculars.
What's Up for June? 🔭 Jupiter is up all night, while Mercury and Mars decide to get close, and the Moon reveals its tilted orbit. Downloadable video and transcript available at https://t.co/tPYUwcimlm pic.twitter.com/lPw2pIEyZ0
— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) June 3, 2019
With binoculars or a small telescope, NASA said astronomy buffs may even catch a glimpse of the banded clouds that encircle the planet.
On June 10, Jupiter reaches opposition, the annual alignment of the planet, the Earth and the sun in a straight line, with Earth in the middle. It's the best time of year to view the planet, the space agency said.
"Although opposition takes place on a specific date, the entire month or so around opposition is an equally good time to observe the planet and its four largest moons," according to NASA.
Jupiter has rings too. Under infrared you can see the faint rings around the gas giant.
— IFLScience (@IFLScience) June 5, 2019
Unlike Saturn's rings, which are made of chunks of ice, Jupiter's rings are darker and believed to consist of fine particles of rock.
Credit: J. Rayner (U. Hawaii), NSFCAM, IRTF, NASA pic.twitter.com/KM4ccDizMD
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