Renowned UK astro-imager Damian Peach created this stunning video of a rotating Jupiter with images captured from Barbados in early to mid-June, three weeks before Juno’s arrival at the gas giant.
Observing
See the old Moon close to Venus then Jupiter in the dawn sky
Early risers in the UK with an unobstructed horizon from southeast through south can see the old crescent Moon close to dazzling Venus in Libra then Jupiter in Ophiuchus over three consecutive mornings starting New Year’s Day around 7am GMT. The brightest and largest planets lie little more than the span of an outstretched hand at arm’s length apart at this time.
News
Kepler-223 star system has four mini-Neptunes in synchronised orbits
A four-planet system orbiting the star Kepler-223 in the constellation Cygnus is actually a rarity: Its planets, all miniature Neptunes nestled close to the star, are orbiting in a unique resonance that has been locked in for billions of years. For every three orbits of the outermost planet, the second orbits four times, the third six times and the innermost eight times.