Jupiter may be two months past opposition, but it’s still big, bright and high to the south before 9 pm from the centre of the British Isles. The Galilean moons, their shadows and the Great Red Spot are all on show — plus mutual phenomena of the moons.
Currently the third brightest celestial object in the night sky of the British Isles after the Moon and Venus, Jupiter presents a cornucopia of phenomena for observers with medium to large telescopes tonight.
The Solar System’s largest planet reached opposition on February 6th, but it’s still big and bright in the March sky. Here’s our quick guide to Jupiter at its best for 2015.
The continued edgewise orbital aspect of Jupiter’s large moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto means that they still regularly eclipse and occult each other. Multiple shadow transits also continue throughout January.
Astronomy Now Online brings you a powerful interactive global Almanac and UK-based all-sky star maps — the first of a new suite of tools to help plan your observing sessions and travel.
The orbits of Jupiter’s large Galilean moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are presently almost edge-on to our line of sight, causing the moons to regularly eclipse and occult each other. Multiple shadow transits are also on view!
A new analysis of data from NASA’s Cassini mission in combination with lab experiments contradicts the leading theory that the striking colour of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is due to reddish chemicals upwelling from below.