Observing

See the waning crescent Moon meet the dawn planets, 15–16 April 2020

There’s a lot of planetary activity in the dawn sky in mid-April. If you’re an early riser in the British Isles, let the waning crescent Moon be your guide to the naked-eye planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars on 15 and 16 April 2020. Typical 7×50 or 10×50 binoculars will show these attractive conjunctions well, while the smallest of telescopes also reveal some of Jupiter’s bright Galilean moons.

Observing

More Jupiter events to enjoy in August 2019

Jupiter is two months past opposition on 10 August, so you need to be looking low in the southern sky of the British Isles around sunset if you wish to catch the solar system’s largest planet at its best. If you time it right and the weather obliges, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot makes multiple appearances while the planet’s Galilean moons play hide and seek. Welcome to our August 2019 Jovian observing guide.

Observing

Further Jupiter events for UK observers in July 2019

July opens with Jupiter three weeks after opposition, but the largest planet is still putting on a fine show as an unmistakable magnitude -2.6 object low in the south before midnight in the constellation of Ophiuchus (the Serpent Bearer). With ongoing developments in the Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and plenty of phenomena occurring with the planet’s large Galilean moons, here’s our Jovian observing guide for July 2019.

Observing

Get ready for prime-time Jupiter and its multi-moon events in June 2019

Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet, reaches opposition on 10 June in the constellation of Ophiuchus (the Serpent Bearer) and is visible low in the southern sky of the UK through the night. Observers with small to medium aperture telescopes can see a number of shadow transits of Jupiter’s Galilean moons and view the planet’s Great Red Spot throughout June.

Observing

See the Moon and Jupiter get close in the small hours of 21 May

Observers in the UK with clear skies around 1am BST on Tuesday, 21 May can see Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet, just 4 degrees from the waning gibbous Moon low in the south-southeast. At this time both the Moon and Jupiter fit within the same field of view of binoculars magnifying less than 10×, while telescope users can also view Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.

Observing

July’s Jupiter events visible from the UK

The start of July finds magnitude -2.3 Jupiter almost two months past opposition and highest in the southern sky around 30 minutes before sunset for observers in the British Isles. The solar system’s largest planet may be past its best, but there still plenty of Jovian events visible from the UK.